II  B  RAR.Y 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

380.9 

Su78c 
cop.  2 


STUDIES  IN  HISTORY,  ECONOMICS  AND  PUBLIC  LAW 

EDITED  BY  THE  FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE  OF 
COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 

Volume  LXXI]  [Number  1 

Whole  Number  167 


THE  COMMERCE  OF 

LOUISIANA  DURING  THE  FRENCH 

REGIME,  1699-1763 


BY 

N.  M.  MILLER  SURREY,  Ph.D. 


Jgork 
COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.,  AGENTS 

LONDON:  P.  S.  KING  &  SON,  LTD. 

1916 


dolmnbta 
FACULTY  OF    POLITICAL    SCIENCI 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  LL.D.,  President.  Munroe  Smith,  LL.D.,  Profess 
of  Roman  Law  and  Comparative  Jurisprudence.  E.  R.  A.  Seligman,  LL.D.,  Prole 
sor  of  Political  Economy  and  Finance.  H.  L.  Osgood,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  History.  V 
A.  Dunning,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  History  and  Political  Philosophy.  J.  B.  Moore,  LI,  L 
Professor  of  International  Law.  F.  H.  biddings,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Sociology.  J.  ] 
Clark,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy.  J.  H.  Robinson,  Ph.D  ,  Professor 
History.  W.  M  Sloane,  L.H.D.,  Professor  of  History.  H.  R.  Seager,  Ph.D  ,  Profe 
sor  of  Political  Economy.  H.  L.  Moore,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy.  V 
R.  Shepherd,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History.  J.  T.  Shotwell,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Hi 
tory.  G.  W.  Botsford,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History.  V.  G.  Simkhovitch,  Ph.C 
Professor  of  Economic  History.  E.  T.  Devine,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Social  Econom 
H.  Johnson,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History.  S.  McC.  Lindsay,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Soci 
Legislation.  C.  A.  Beard,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Politics.  W.  D.  Guthrie,  A.M.,  Pr 
fessor  of  Constitutional  Law.  H.  R.  Mussey,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  Economic 

C.  H   Hayes,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  History.     A.  A.  Tenney,  Ph.D.,   Assis 
ant  Professor  of  Sociology.     E.  M.  Sait,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Public  Law.     I 
L.  Schuyler,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  History.     R.  E.  Chaddock,  Ph.D.,  Associa 
Professor  of  Statistics.     T.  R.  Powell,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  Constitutional  Lav 

D.  S.  Muzzey,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Professor  of  History.     W.   C.  Mitchell,  Ph.D.,  Pn 
fessor  of  Economics.     E.  C.  Stowell,  D  en  D.,  Associate  Professor  of  International  Ln\ 
H.  L.  McBain,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Municipal  Science     B.  F.  Kendrick,  Ph.D 
Assistant  Professor  of  History.     L.  D.  Hazen,  PhD.,  Professor  of  History. 

SCHEME   OF   INSTRUCTION 
GROUP  I.     HISTORY  AND  POLITICAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

Subject  A.  Ancient  and  Oriental  History,  fourteen  courses.  Subject  B  Medisev; 
History,  twenty-one  courses.  Subject  C.  Modem  European  History,  twenty-one  course 
Subject  D.  American  History,  twenty  courses.  Subject  E.  History  of  Thought  an 
Culture,  thirty-five  courses.  Coirses  in  Church  History  given  at  the  Union  Seminar 
are  open  to  the  students  of  the  School  of  Political  Science. 

GROUP  II.     PUBLIC  LAW  AND  COMPARATIVE  JURISPRUDENCE. 

Subject  A.  Politics,  twelve  courses.  Subject  B.  Constitutional  and  Administrate 
Law,  eight  courses.  Subject  C.  International  Law,  nine  courses.  Subject  D.  Rom:i 
Law  and  Comparative  Jurisprudence,  seven  courses.  Courses  in  Law  given  in  the  Colun 
bia  Law  School  are  open  to  the  students  of  the  School  of  Political  Science. 

GROUP  III.    ECONOMICS  AND  SOCIAL  SCIENCE. 

Subject  A.  Political  Economy  and  Finance,  twenty  two  courses.  Applied  Econom 
ics,  sixteen  courses.  Subject  B.  Sociology  and  Statistics,  twenty-three  courses.  Suh 
ject  C.  Social  Economy,  twelve  courses.  Courses  in  Social  Economy  given  in  tli 
School  of  Philanthropy  are  open  to  students  in  the  School  of  Political  Science. 


The  greater  number  of  the  courses  consist  of  lectures ;  a  smaller  number  take  th 
form  of  research  under  the  direction  of  a  professor.  The  degrees  of  A  .M.  and  Ph.D.  ar 
given  to  students  who  fulfil  the  requirements  prescribed.  (For  particulars,  see  Columbi; 
University  Bulletins  of  Information,  Faculty  of  Political  Science.)  Any  person  not  i 
candidate  for  a  degree  may  attend  any  of  the  courses  at  any  time  by  payment  of  a  propor 
tional  fee.  Ten  or  more  Cutting  fellowships  of  ?iooo  each  or  more,  four  Univeisit' 
fellowships  of  8650  each,  two  or  three  Gilder  fellowships  of  SO^o — SSoo  each,  thi 
Schiff  fellowship  of  36oo,  the  Curtis  fellowship  of  $600,  the  G  -rth  fellowship  of  #650 
and  a  number  of  University  scholarships  of  $150  CTch  are  awarded  to  applicants  wh< 
give  evidence  of  special  fitness  to  pursue  advanced  studies.  Several  prizes  of  from  $C( 
to  5250  are  awarded.  The  library  contains  over  600,000  volumes  and  students  hxv< 
access  to  other  great  collections  in  the  city. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  DURING 
THE  FRENCH  REGIME,  1699-1763 


STUDIES  IN  HISTORY,  ECONOMICS  AND  PUBLIC  LAW 

EDITED  BY  THE  FACULTY  OF   POLITICAL  SCIENCE  OF 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

Volume  LXXI]  [Number  1 

Whole  Number  167 


THE  COMMERCE  OF 

LOUISIANA  DURING  THE  FRENCH 

REGIME,  1699-1763 


BY 

N.  M.  MILLER  SURREY,  Ph.D. 


|)0rk 
COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.,  AGENTS 

LONDON  :  P.  S.  KING  &  SON,  LTD. 

I9l6 


COPYRIGHT,  1916 

BY 

N.  M.  MILLER   SURREY 


MY   HUSBAND 
FRANKLIN  MILLER  SURREY 


PREFACE 

HISTORIES  of  Louisiana  under  the  rule  of  France  have 
been  little  more  than  narratives  of  events.  None  has 
given  primary  attention  to  the  development  of  institu- 
tions. The  present  contribution,  begun  in  1909  as  a 
seminar  paper,  is  intended  within  the  field  chosen  to 
remedy  this  omission. 

In  elaborating  the  theme  an  effort  has  been  made  to 
bring  together  all  that  is  pertinent  and  available  in 
French  and  English  records.  Every  library  in  the 
United  States  likely  to  contain  material  on  the  subject 
has  been  visited.  As  the  chief  source  of  information 
naturally  is  France  itself,  the  stores  of  the  archival 
centres  and  the  libraries  there  have  been  freely  drawn 
upon.  The  work,  in  fact,  is  based,  very  largely,  on  un- 
published documents. 

For  suggestions,  criticism  and  guidance  in  the  per- 
formance of  my  task  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  William 
R.  Shepherd,  of  Columbia  University,  under  whom  it 
was  carried  on.  To  him  I  express  my  sincere  gratitude. 
I  desire  to  convey  my  sense  of  appreciation,  also,  to  Mr. 
Waldo  Leland,  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washing- 
ton, and  to  M.  Abel  Doysie,  of  Paris,  for  aid  in  utilizing 
the  French  archives.  To  librarians  and  others  who  have 
placed  their  collections  at  my  disposal  I  am  duly  thank- 
ful for  the  many  courtesies  received. 

N.  M.  MILLER  SURREY. 

NEW  YORK,  APRIL,  1916. 

7]  7 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

FACE 

INTRODUCTION 21 

CHAPTER  II 

WATERWAYS 

Extent 32 

Portages 32 

Between  different  rivers 32 

Between  rivers  of  the  same  system 33 

Replaced  by  canals 33 

Between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence  system 34 

Between  the  Mississippi  and  the  coastal  system 39 

Harbors  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 40 

CHAPTER  III 

NAVIGATION 

Natural  obstructions 42 

Discomforts  to  travelers 43 

Navigation  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi 44 

Navigation  on  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi 44 

Voyages  on  the  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley 44 

Ferries 4^ 

Navigation  along  the  Gulf  coast      49 

Mississippi  bars 5° 

CHAPTER  IV 

BOATS 

Canoe 55 

Pirogue 57 

Cajeu 59 

Flat-boat 59 

9]  9 


10                                            CONTENTS  [I0 

PAGE 

Radeau 6l 

Shallop 61 

Felouque 62 

Traversier 63 

Bateau 65 

CHAPTER  V 
BOATS    (continuecf) 

Barque 70 

Brigantin 70 

Caiche  (Quaiche)      72 

Frigate 72 

Keel-boat 72 

Galgre 73 

Methods  of  propulsion 

Rowing >j^ 

Sails 73 

Punting .  73 

Cordelling ....  73 

Crews 

Number  of  men  and  how  obtained 74 

Captain  and  his  duties 74 

Pay  of  boatmen 75 

Time  of  passage 

From  New  Orleans  to  the  Illinois  country 75 

From  the  Illinois  country  to  Fort  Du  Quesne 75 

From  New  Orleans  to  Mobile 75 

Rates 76 

Ocean-going  vessels 

Number  and  length  of  service 77 

From  what  port  despatched 77 

Size 78 

Passengers 

Classes 79 

Fare 80 

Convoys      So 

Crews 

Officers 80 

Sailors 81 

Time  required  to  cross  the  ocean 8 1 


II]  CONTENTS 


II 


CHAPTER  VI 
HIGHWAYS 

Buffalo  paths g2 

Indian  trails 

North  of  the  Ohio  river 84 

South  of  the  Ohio  river g* 

Trade  trails 

Caravans 89 

Difficulties  of  the  journey 90 

French  roads 

Laws  regulating 01 


Construction 


93 


In  and  around  New  Orleans 93 

At  Fort  Rosalie      94 

In  the  Illinois  country 94 

Conveyances  used ge 

CHAPTER  VII 
BARTER 

Among  the  Indian  tribes 97 

Between  Indians  and  Europeans 97 

Among  French  in  Louisiana 100 

Standards  of  measure 100 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SILVER  COINS 

Early  uses  in  Louisiana IO2 

Company's  difficulty  to  keep  in  circulation 102 

Increased  use  of  French  coins  in  1731 104 

Adjustment  of  Spanish  to  French  money  values 105 

Schemes  to  keep  specie  in  Louisiana      105 

Specie  from  the  West  Indies 106 

Scarcity  of  specie  in  Louisiana 107 

CHAPTER  IX 
COPPER  COINS 

Copper  coinage  for  the  French  colonies  in  general 108 

Copper  coins  for  Louisiana 109 

Speculation  in  copper  coins 109 

Laws  relating  to  copper  coins HO 


12  CONTENTS  [I2 


PAGE 


Difficulties  of  keeping  copper  in  circulation ill 

Copper  coin  under  the  royal  regime 113 

CHAPTER  X 
PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT,  1699-1739 

Kinds  of  paper  money 115 

Bills  of  exchange  as  current  money 115 

Orders  on  the  treasury !*7 

Orders  on  the  storehouse 117 

The  Company's  adjustment  of  paper  money 118 

Speculation  in  paper  money  during  the  time  of  the  Company     ......  119 

Defacing  of  paper  money 121 

Need  for  more  money  in  Louisiana 121 

Retirements  of  the  Company's  paper  money 122 

Monetary  experiments  after  the  retrocession 122 

Card  money 125 

State  of  the  finances  of  Louisiana,  1736-1739 , 127 

CHAPTER  XI 
PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT,  1739-1763 

State  of  the  finances  of  Louisiana,  1740-1741 129 

The  depreciation  of  paper  money 1 29 

Causes  of  the  disorder  in  the  finances  of  the  province 130 

Withdrawal  of  paper  money  from  circulation 1 33 

Re-introduction  of  card  money 135 

State  of  the  finances  of  Louisiana,  1744-1749 138 

The  card  money  of  1750 .    .  139 

Counterfeiting 140 

State  of  the  finances  in  1752 141 

The  issue  of  "  bons  " 142 

Bills  of  exchange  on  the  treasury  of  other  French  colonies 142 

State  of  the  finances,  1754-1758 142 

Rochemore's  administration  of  the  finances,  1758-1759 143 

Finances  of  Louisiana,  1760-1762 148 

CHAPTER  XII 
TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1699-1731 

Establishment  of  Louisiana  as  a  trading  colony -154 

Louisiana  under  Crozat 157 

Louisiana  under  the  Company 

Organization 159 

Policy     160 


13]                                        CONTENTS  I3 

PAGB 

Freight  regulations 161 

Liberty  of  trade  granted 163 

Exports,  1726-1729 164 

Trade  in  walking-sticks 166 

Results  of  the  Company's  commercial  experiment 166 

Obstacles  in  the  way  of  trade  development 1 66 

Some  reasons  for  the  Company's  retirement 168 

CHAPTER  XIII 

TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1731-1763 

The  French  merchant  marine  in  1731 169 

Interesting  the  French  merchants  in  Louisiana 169 

State  of  the  province  at  the  time  of  the  retrocession 170 

Renewal  of  activity       171 

Trade  conditions,  1732 172 

Attempts  to  increase  colonial  exports,  1732   ....    • 174 

Trade  conditions,  1733-1734       176 

The  brandy  and  flour  imports      183 

Exports  in  1735 l$4 

Governmental  trade  in  1735 l%5 

Private  trade  in  1735 *86 

Trade  conditions,  1736-1738 187 

Abuses 190 

Imports  for  1739 190 

Exports,  1736-1740      190 

Extent  of  trade  in  1739 194 

CHAPTER  XIV 
TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1731-1763  {continued) 

Trade  interrupted  by  the  English       195 

Nature  and  extent  of  the  private  trade  in  1740 195 

Trade  conditions,  1740-1743 196 

The  royal  navy  in  1744 202 

Government  trade,  1744-1750 202 

Activity  of  the  French  merchants,  1745-1749 .    .    .  203 

Exports  of  Louisiana,  1743-1750 208 

Trade  conditions,  1750-1754 21 1 

Colonial  trade,  1754-1756 212 

Exports  of  Louisiana,  1750-1754 214 

Trade  with  the  colony,  1755-1758 218 

Trade  conditions,  1759 219 

Trade  at  the  close  of  the  French  regime 221 


I4  CONTENTS  [I4 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  SLAVE  TRADE 
The  Indian  slave  trade 

La  Salle 226 

The  English 226 

The  French , 227 

Decline • 229 

Extent 230 

Price  of  slaves 230 

The  negro  slave  trade 

Before  1712 230 

Under  Crozat 231 

Under  the  Company  of  the  West 231 

Under  the  Company  of  the  Indies 

Extent    .    • 231 

Nature 232 

Distribution 233 

Methods  of  buying  slaves 234 

Legislation 235 

Under  the  crown,  1721-1763 

Efforts  to  increase  the  trade     .    .    .    .  • 236 

Activity  of  the  trade,  1754-1763 244 

Number  of  slaves  in  the  province 245 

Price  of  slaves 246 

Summary 249 

CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA 

The  beginnings 250 

Meat 251 

Lard •  260 

Tallow 261 

Olive  oil 261 

Bear's  oil 262 

Butter  and  cheese 263 

Eggs 263 

Milk 264 

Flour 265 

Bread 266 

Rice 268 

Corn 269 

Garden  products 270 


I5]                                          CONTENTS                             .  jc; 

PACK 

Liquors 272 

General  merchandise  stores 278 

Drugs 281 

Live  stock 

Horses 282 

Cattle      282 

Hogs  and  sheep 284 

Lumber      284 

Brick      285 

Lime       287 

Real  estate 287 

CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  TRADE  OK  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY 

The  nature  of  the  trade  under  the  Companies 288 

Trade  from  1732  to  1734 289 

Trade  from  1736  to  1742 291 

Trade  from  1743  to  1750 292 

Abuses 294 

Trade  from  1752  to  1755      297 

Effects  of  the  war  upon  trade 299 

Business  houses  and  business  men  in  the  Illinois  country 299 

Kinds  of  trade  carried  on  by  the  Illinois  merchants 

European  goods 300 

Live  stock 301 

Real  estate 302 

Building  materials 303 

Lead 303 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY 

The  extension  of  the  trade  westward 3°4 

Relation  of  the  missionary  to  the  trade 3°5 

La  Salle  and  the  fur  trade 3°6 

Trade  of  Tonty  and  La  Forest  on  the  upper  Illinois  river 308 

Le  Sueur's  trade  among  the  Sioux  ....            3*° 

Conflict  between  the  French  and  English  of  New  York  for  control  of  the 

western  fur  trade 3'° 

Condition  of  the  trade  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century 312 

Conflict  between  New  France  and  Louisiana  over  the  fur  trade 

Le  Sueur 3H 

Juchereau 3J4 

Trade  at  Detroit    .                       3*5 


CONTENTS 


[r.6 


PAGB 

French  push  trade  into  English  territory    ...............  315 

Conditions  of  the  trade  in  New  France,  1700-1720  ...........  315 

Effect  of  Indian  wars  upon  the  trade  .................  318 

English  competitors  in  the  trade      ..................  319 

Amount  of  peltry  that  passed  from  the  Mississippi  valley 

To  the  English  ........................  333 

To  New  France     .......................  334 

CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA,  1699-1763 

Iberville's  schemes 

As  to  the  Illinois  country      ...................  335 

As  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  region   .................  335 

Le  Sueur's  activities     .......................  336 

Actual  beginnings  of  the  fur  trade  ..................  337 

The  entrance  of  the  Carolina  traders  .................  339 

Trade  under  Crozat 

English  intrusions     ......................  341 

Work  of  the  French  trader  ...................  342 

Effect  of  Indian  hostility  toward 

The  French    .......................  343 

The  English  .......................  343 

Results  ..........    .................  344 

Trade  under  the  Companies 

Methods  employed  to  improve  the  trade    .............  344 

Effects  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Illinois  country     ..........  345 

English  activity     .......................  346 

Trade  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley   ...............  347 

Effect  of  Indian  wars    ...............        .....  348 

Trade  under  the  crown 

Conditions  at  the  time  of  the  retrocession      ............  349 

Mobile  trade,  1732-1734      ..................  350 

Illinois  trade      ........................  353 

Trade  agreements  with  the  Indians   ...............  354 

Effect  of  the  English  ill-treatment  of  the  Indians     .........  355 

Trade  from  1736  to  1744     ..........    .    ........  356 

Effect  of  the  war,  1744-1748  .....    .    ............  357 

Conditions  of  trade,  1749-1754   .................  361 

Attitude  of  the  Indians  toward  trade  during  the  war       .......  363 

Trade  with  the  Illinois  country  during  the  war     ..........  365 

Results  at  the  close  of  the  war     ...................  365 


!7]  CONTENTS  !~ 

CHAPTER  XX 

TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES 

Beginnings 367 

Under  Crozat 

Attitude  of  the  islanders 369 

Attitude  of  the  colonists 369 

Results , 370 

Under  the  Companies 

Policy 371 

Colonists'  part  in  the  trade 372 

Trade  conference 372 

Withdrawal  of  the  Company's  control 373 

Under  the  crown,  1731-1763 

Policy 373 

Trade,  1732-1734 374 

Misfortunes 376 

New  boats  for  the  service 377 

Trade,  1736-1740 378 

English  seizures 379 

Trade,  1742-1744 380 

Trade  during  the  war 381 

Condition  from  1750  to  1754 382 

Proportions  of  the  trade  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  1754 385 

Trade  during  the  war 386 

CHAPTER  XXI 
TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

Early  French  Plans 388 

Iberville's  plan  for  building  up  trade 388 

Under  Crozat 

Activity  of  the  agents 389 

Success  of  the  new  policy 390 

Change  in  methods 391 

Under  the  Companies 

Policy  adopted  in  1717     .    , 391 

Development  of  the  trade 392 

War's  effect  upon  the  trade      39& 

Conditions  of  the  trade,  1729-1731 397 

As  carried  on  under  the  crown 

Attempts  at  promotion 397 

Improvement  in  the  trade,  1741      4°* 

Retardment  of  progress 4°2 


jg  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Recovery  m  1743 402 

The  effects  of  the  war  upon  trade , 403 

Trade,  1747-1754 403 

Trade  during  the  war 405 

CHAPTER  XXII 
TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS 

As  developed  on  the  lower  Mississippi 

Early  plans 407 

Crozat's  activities 407 

Work  of  the  Companies 

With  the  Spanish  missionaries 409 

On  St.  Bernard  Bay 411 

With  the  Spanish  officials 412 

Activities  of  the  crown 

Outlook  from  1731-1742 414 

Effect  of  the  death  of  St.  Denis  on  the  trade 414 

Work  of  Governor  Vaudreuil  with  the  viceroy 415 

As  attempted  from  the  Illinois  country 

Early 415 

Later 416 

Influence  on  the  trade 417 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA 

With  Pensacola  « 

From   1699-1712 

French  sustaining  the  Spanish  post 418 

Spanish  provisioning  of  Mobile 420 

Under  Crozat 421 

Progress  under  the  Companies 

Policy 421 

As  carried  on  by  the  crown 

Attempts  at  promotion      422 

Extent 423 

Trade  from  1741  to  1763 425 

With  St.  Augustine 427 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
TRADE  WITH  CUBA 
Early  attempts       431 


19]  CONTENTS  I9 

PACK 

Under  Crozat 

Domestic  animals 


433 

Activities  under  the  Companies 

Falling-off  in  the  trade,  1717       434 

Bienville's  effort  to  advance  trade       435 

Proportions  of  the  trade 435 

Under  the  crown 

Difficulties  in  the  way  of  development 436 

Trade  in  1743 437 

Trade,  1744-1752 438 

Vaudreuil's  work 

With  Spanish  merchants 438 

Effect  of  the  war 438 

With  Spanish  officials 439 

Schemes  to  evade  Spanish  restrictions 440 

Effects  of  peace 440 

Effects  of  Vaudreuil's  recall  upon  trade 441 

Trade  during  the  war 441 

CHAPTER  XXV 
TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 

Attitude  of  the  French  and  English  toward  one  another 443 

The  English  trader 443 

Beginnings 444 

Crozat's  efforts 445 

Under  the  Companies 

French  attitude  toward  the  trade 446 

English  methods  and  extent  of  the  trade 446 

English  efforts  to  promote  trade,  1733-1744 448 

Trade  conditions,  1744-1754 456 

Trade  conditions,  1754-1763 

Use  of  "  parliamentaries  "  (cartel-ships) 458 

KerlSrec's  policy 459 

Results  from  Kerl6rec's  work 459 

French  and  English  attitude  in  1759      460 

English  methods  of  carrying  on  the  trade 461 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  ....  464 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

THE  province  of  Louisiana  under  French  rule  included, 
roughly  speaking,  the  whole  of  the  valleys  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Mobile  rivers.  To  the  northeast  of  this  area 
lay  the  colony  of  New  France  where  the  chief  occupation 
of  the  people  was  the  fur  trade.  Every  one  from  the 
governor  down  to  the  humblest  inhabitant  was  in- 
terested directly  or  indirectly  in  the  expansion  of  this 
trade,  a  fact  that  led  to  explorations  in  search  of  new 
centers  for  its  development. 

Governor  Frontenac,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  the  in- 
tendant,  an  experienced  fur  trader,  appointed  Joliet,  a 
tactful,  intelligent  man,  a  native  of  Quebec  who  had 
mastered  more  than  one  of  the  numerous  Indian  lan- 
guages, to  take  up  the  work  of  pushing  forward  explora- 
tion and  the  fur  trade.  With  Father  Marquette  and  a 
few  other  companions,  Joliet,  May  17,  1673,  left  Michili- 
mackinac  for  the  west,  and  June  17  of  the  same  year 
reached  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin 
river.  They  entered  and  passed  down  that  river  to  lati- 
tude 33°  40'  and  returned  to  the  starting  place  by  way 
of  the  Illinois  river  and  Lake  Michigan,  thereby  making 
known  to  the  French  much  of  the  Mississippi  and  all  of 
the  Illinois  river.1 

The  reports  of  these  men  concerning  the  great  fertility 
of  the  soil,  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  abundance  of 

1  The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents,  vol.  lix,  pp.  89-107,  159. 

21]  21 


22  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [22 

game  of  all  kinds,  and  the  docility  of  the  Illinois  Indians 
gave  considerable  stimulus  to  French  interest  in  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Father  Marquette  made  a  second 
voyage  to  the  Illinois  region  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing a  mission  there.  This  undertaking  was  crowned 
with  success  in  1675  by  the  founding  on  the  upper  Illi- 
nois river  among  the  Kaskaskia  Indians  of  a  mission 
which  he  named  the  Immaculate  Conception.1  Two  years 
later  Allouez  took  charge  of  the  mission  and  from  that 
time  onward  missionary  work  was  carried  on  regularly 
among  the  Illinois  Indians.2 

The  traders,  too,  were  soon  again  in  the  Illinois 
country.  On  May  12,  1678,  La  Salle  received  a  patent 
from  the  king  to  carry  on  trade  and  exploration  in  the 
west.  He  started  for  the  territory  assigned  him  the 
next  year,  but  found  so  many  obstacles  to  be  overcome 
that  it  was  January,  1680,  before  he  reached  the  Illinois. 
On  arriving  at  Lake  Peoria  he  began  the  construction 
of  a  fort  which  he  called  Crevecoeur,  and  from  here  as  a 
starting  point  he  proposed  to  explore  the  Mississippi 
above  and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river. 

Hennepin  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  exploration  of 
the  upper  Mississippi.  Leaving  Fort  Crevecoeur  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1680,  he  passed  down  the  Illinois  and  up  the 
Mississippi  to  where  the  river  is  obstructed  by  falls. 
These  he  named  in  honor  of  Saint  Anthony  of  Padua, 
passed  around  them  and  continued  his  exploration  on  up 
the  river  to  the  source  in  Lake  Issati  (sic) ,  sixty  leagues 
to  the  west  of  Lake  Superior.3 

1  The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents,  vol.  lix,  pp.  185-191, 
235- 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  Ix,  pp.  163-167;  vol.  Ixv,  p.  69. 

*  Margry,  Decouvertes  et  Btablissements  des  Frangais  dans  I'Ouest 
et  dans  le  Sud  de  I'Amtrique  Septentrionale,  vol.  i,  pp.  477-48i. 


23]  INTRODUCTION  2* 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  Hennepin  from  Creve- 
coeur,  La  Salle  set  out  overland  for  Fort  Frontenac  and 
was  not  at  his  Illinois  station  again  until  December, 

1681.  In  a  short  time  he  left  this  post  and  passed  on 
down  the  Illinois  in  order  to  begin  exploring  the  lower 
Mississippi.     This  he  found  full  of  floating  ice  and  he 
was  forced  to  delay  his  descent  until  navigation  was  safe. 
On  April  9,  1682  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
planted  a  cross,  took   possession  of  the   valley  in  the 
name   of  the   king  of  France  and   named   the  country 
Louisiana.     After  this  formality  La  Salle  started  on  the 
return  voyage  and  reached  the  Illinois  villages  July  15, 

1682.  Fort  Crevecoeur,  during  his  absence,  had  been 
entirely  destroyed.     He  left  eight  of  his  men  there  and 
with   the   remainder  went   by  land   to   Lake  Michigan 
where  he  met  Tonty,  whom  he  sent  with  nine  men  to 
join  those  he  had  at  Crevecoeur.     La  Salle  went  on  to 
Michilimackinac  and,  as  soon  as  it  was  possible  for  him 
to  make   the  journey,  joined  his  men  at  Lake  Peoria. 
Under  his  guidance  a  new  fort  was  constructed   on  a 
rocky  prominence  well  guarded  by  nature  and  now  called 
Starved  Rock,  not  far  from  the  present  city  of  Utica, 
Illinois.     This  post  he  named  Fort  St.  Louis.     Leaving 
it  under  the  command  of  Tonty,  he  went  to   Quebec, 
reaching  that  place  November  13,  1683,  and  early  the 
next  year  set  sail  for  France,  in  order  to  get  permission 
to  return  by  way  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  plant  a  colony 
on  the  lower  Mississippi.1 

La  Salle  secured  the  consent  and  aid  of  the  crown  for 
the  undertaking  and  in  February,  1685,  was  at  Mata- 
gorda  Bay,  Texas,  near  which,  on  the  Garcitas  river,  he 
built  a  fort  that  he  named  "Fort  of  St.  Louis  Bay." 

1  Margry,  op.  tit.,  vol.  i,   pp.  502,  519-520.  549-57O. 


24  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [24 

Hardships  and  insubordination  followed.  On  March  9, 
1687,  while  on  a  journey  in  search  of  the  Mississippi, 
La  Salle  was  assassinated  by  one  of  his  own  men.1  This 
act  ended  a  colonizing  enterprise  that  had  added  nothing 
to  the  settlement  and  very  little  to  the  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  valley. 

After  La  Salle's  efforts  in  the  Illinois  country  in  1682, 
French  military  and  commercial  occupation  was  not 
again  discontinued.  La  Barre,  who  succeeded  Fronte- 
nac  as  governor  of  New  France,  however,  hated  La 
Salle  and  tried  hard  to  destroy  the  latter's  work  in  the 
Illinois  country;  but  fortunately  his  efforts  met  with 
small  success.2  Until  after  the  migration  of  the  Kas- 
kaskia  Indians  to  the  region  between  the  Kaskaskia  and 
Mississippi  rivers  in  the  autumn  of  1700,  in  order  to 
escape  the  onslaughts  of  the  Iroquois  and  Fox  Indians, 
as  well  as  to  be  in  closer  touch  with  the  new  French 
settlement  on  the  Gulf  coast,  Tonty  and  La  Forest  were 
established  at  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  upper  Illinois  river.3 

In  1698  the  crown  again  took  up  the  work  of  coloniz- 
ing the  lower  Mississippi  valley,  and  sent  out  an  ex- 
pedition under  Iberville,  a  native  of  New  France.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  next  year  he  reached  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  selected  a  location  on  Biloxi  Bay  and  built  on 
the  site  a  post  which  he  named  Biloxi.4  The  new  settle- 
ment had  a  hard  struggle  to  keep  itself  alive.  It  was  in 
an  unhealthy  situation  surrounded  by  a  morass,  and  was 

1  Margry,  op.  cit.,  vol.  in,  pp.  106-120,  318-335;  The  Mississippi  Valley 
Historical  Review,  vol.  ii,  pp.  165-182. 

*  Parkman,  Count  Frontenac  and  New  France  under  Louis  XIV,  vol. 
i,  pp.  76-92. 

3  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  101. 

4  La  Harpe,  Journal  Historigue  de  l'£tablissement  des  Francois  d  la 
Louisiane,  pp.  4-7;  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  213-296. 


25]  INTRODUCTION  2r 

not  on  a  waterway  that  led  to  the  interior  of  the  country. 
Consequently,  in  1702,  Iberville  gave  orders  for  the 
foundation  of  a  new  settlement  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mobile  river,  about  18  leagues  from  the  sea.  Here  a 
fort  was  built  and  named  "  Fort  St.  Louis  de  la  Mobile." 
This  location  Iberville  thought  superior  to  that  of 
Biloxi,  since  it  brought  the  French  into  much  easier 
communication  with  the  Indians  of  the  Mobile  valley, 
with  the  French  in  the  Illinois  country  and  with  the 
Spanish  of  Pensacola.  Moreover  he  claimed  for  the 
new  settlement  a  good  harbor  which  could  be  entered 
easily  and  was  naturally  defended.1 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  the  site  for  the  new  post 
was  not  well  chosen.  The  land  on  which  it  was  located 
was  low  and  subjected  to  inundations,  a  circumstance 
which  in  1711  led  to  the  removal  of  the  settlement  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Mobile  river,  eight  leagues  nearer  the 
sea.  Around  this  fort  there  grew  up  a  village  called 
Mobile  which  early  became  the  capital  of  the  province.2 
The  new  post  was  not  far  enough  inland  to  combat  suc- 
cessfully English  aggression;  therefore,  in  1714,  For 
Toulouse  was  built  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Alabama 
river.3  To  the  same  end,  in  1736,  Fort  Tombecbee  was 
erected  on  the  river  of  the  same  name,  not  far  from  the 
Choctaw.4  During  the  French  period  these  two  posts 
mark  the  frontier  of  settlement  in  this  region. 

The  discovery  of  an  English  vessel  a  short  distance  up 
the  Mississippi  river,  in  1700,  caused  the  French  to  con- 
struct a  fort  on  the  lower  waters  of  that  river.  A  site 

1  Jes.  Ret,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  179;  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  533-534,  603;  Le  Page 
du  Pratz,  Histoire  de  la  Louisiane,  vol.  i,  pp.  268-269;  La  Harpe,  p.  38. 

2  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  481,  482,  484;  La  Harpe,  pp.  107-108. 

s  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  vol.  i,  p.  128. 
4  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  255. 


26  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [26 

on  the  south  side  was  selected  and  a  rough  fort,  called 
Fort  Mississippi,  was  built  eighteen  leagues  from  the 
mouth.  This  post,  which  was  not  abandoned  until  1705, 
had  five  or  six  houses  for  the  soldiers  and  a  small  but 
neat  house  for  the  commandant,  Bienville.1 

War  at  home  occupied  too  much  of  the  attention  of 
France  for  the  proper  development  of  its  infant  colony 
of  Louisiana.  Consequently  in  1712,  in  return  for 
exclusive  rights  of  trade  in  the  province,  Antoine  Crozat, 
an  energetic  and  successful  French  merchant,  took  over 
the  work.  A  desire  on  his  part  to  reap  immediate  and 
substantial  returns  from  the  smallest  possible  investment 
of  capital  doomed  the  venture  to  financial  failure.  In 
1717  he  gave  the  province  back  to  the  crown,  which  at 
once  granted  it  to  the  Company  of  the  West  with  sub- 
stantially the  same  privileges  as  had  been  given  to  Crozat. 
Under  the  new  patent,  however,  Louisiana  was  made  to 
include  the  Illinois  country  as  well. 

The  interest  of  the  Company  of  the  West  in  establish- 
ing trade  with  the  Spanish  of  New  Mexico  caused  a 
movement  of  settlement  westward.  In  1717  New  Biloxi 
was  founded  on  the  Gulf  coast,2  and  a  site  was  selected 
for  a  new  village,  to  be  named  New  Orleans.  Here  a 
settlement  was  begun  in  I7i8,3  which  later  replaced 
Mobile  as  the  capital  of  the  colony,  and  in  1723  had 
a  few  log  cabins  along  the  river  front  "  put  up  without 
order."4 

Louisiana,  in  1721,  was  divided  into  nine  military  dis- 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  161 ;  La  Harpe,  p.  19. 
1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  548. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  p.  549 ;  La  Harpe,  p.  142. 

4  Records  of  the  American  Catholic  Historical  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, vol.  x,  p.  202. 


27]  INTRODUCTION  27 

tricts.1  The  growth  of  settlement  in  three  of  those 
districts,  Mobile,  Biloxi  and  Alibamon,  has  already  been 
described.  In  the  district  of  New  Orleans,  in  1722,  Fort 
Balise  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  commanding  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  from  there  to  within  ten 
leagues  of  New  Orleans  the  land  was  low,  marshy  and 
unfit  for  occupation.  At  that  distance  below  the  village, 
however,  settlements  began  to  appear  separated  from 
each  other  by  only  a  few  miles.2  The  same  condition 
existed  above  New  Orleans.  At  ten  leagues  above  the 
capital,  extending  for  five  or  six  leagues  along  the  west 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  were  three  villages  of  German 
settlers.3  Before  the  end  of  the  French  control  of 
Louisiana,  New  Orleans  grew  to  be  a  comparatively 
large  town,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  farms  and  plan- 
tations.4 In  1721,  furthermore,  there  was  a  fort  (St. 
Pierre)  in  the  Yazoo  district  on  the  river  of  the  same 
name.  Not  many  settlers  took  up  land  near  it,  because 
of  Indian  hostility.5 

Fort  Rosalie,  ninety-five  leagues  up  the  Mississippi 
river  from  New  Orleans,  was  the  center  of  the  Natchez 
district.  This  fort,  begun  in  1700  and  finished  in  1716, 
was  splendidly  located  on  high  fertile  ground  which,  be- 
fore the  Indian  massacre,  was  considered  one  of  the  best 
locations  on  the  lower  Mississippi.  After  the  Natchez 
revolt,  settlement  in  this  region  grew  slowly  notwith- 
standing the  situation  was  most  desirable.6  Some  fifty 
leagues  below  Fort  Rosalie  there  was  a  cluster  of  fertile 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  296. 

3  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  209 ;  Hist.  Coll.  La.,  pt.  iii,  p.  181. 

3  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  215.  *>Ibid.,  pp.  211,  215. 

5  La  Harpe,  pp.  310,  330. 

6  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  230;  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  573-5745  Hist. 
Coll.  La.,  pt.  iii,  p.  21. 


28  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2g 

farms  stretching  out  for  some  distance  along  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  called  Pointe  Coupee.1 

North  of  the  Natchez  lay  the  Arkansas  district  with  a 
fort,  begun  by  Tonty  in  1685,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Arkansas  river.  From  here  to  the  Illinois  country,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  there  was  not  a  single  perma- 
nent French  settlement  along  this  part  of  the  Mississippi,2 
though  the  forts  of  St.  Francis  (1739)  thirty  leagues  above 
the  Arkansas,  St.  Martin  (1738)  a  little  farther  up  the  river 
on  an  island  of  the  same  name,  1'Assomption  (1739)  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Margot  river  (Wolf  river),  and  Prud'- 
homme  (1719)  forty  leagues  above,  had  been  established, 
and  had  survived  for  short  periods  of  time.3 

The  exploration  of  the  country  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi  was  begun  in  1700,  when  Bienville  and  St. 
Denis  made  a  voyage  of  discovery  up  the  Red  river. 
Later  they  conducted  further  explorations  in  this  part 
of  Louisiana,  and  in  time  St.  Denis,  through  Texas, 
reached  New  Mexico.  La  Harpe,  Du  Tisne,  Verendrye 
and  others  extended  this  work  as  far  as  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  In  1717  Fort  Natchitoches,  seventy  leagues 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Red  river,  was  erected,  and  as 
was  the  case  at  the  other  French  posts,  a  village  slowly 
grew  up  around  it.  Natchitoches  continued  to  the  end 
of  the  French  regime  to  be  the  only  French  settlement 
in  this  part  of  Louisiana.4 

1  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  215.  2  Ibid.,  p.  217. 

8  Journal  de  la  Guerre  du  Micissippi  contre  Us  Chicachas,  en  1739 
et  finie  en  1740,  etc.,  pp.  37-40;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  291;  La 
Harpe,  p.  305;  Jefferys,  The  Natural  and  Civil  History  of  the  French 
Dominions  in  North  and  South  America,  pt.  i,  p.  143;  Margry,  vol.  v, 
p.  403;  Delisle's  Map,  1718;  Collot,  A  Journey  in  North  America,  vol. 
ii,  p.  28. 

4  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  193-305,  309-315,  583-612;  La  Harpe,  pp.  30,  130- 


29]  INTRODUCTION  2g 

The  Illinois  country,  as  has  been  shown,  was  quite  well 
known  to  the  people  of  New  France  before  the  begin- 
ning of  colonization  on  the  lower  Mississippi.  There 
were  no  permanent  settlements  made  until  1700,  when 
both  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia  were  begun.1  Later  settle- 
ments  were  made  at  Fort  Chartres  (1720),  St.  Anne 
(1719),  St.  Philippe  (1726),  and  Prairie  du  Rocher 
(1722).  Across  the  Mississippi  river,  one  mile  from  its 
western  bank,  southwest  from  Kaskaskia,  were  St. 
Genevieve  (1732),  and  near  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Pont 
(1760).' 

These  settlements  were  surrounded  by  an  outer  ring 
of  frontier  posts.  At  Lake  Peoria  on  the  north  there 
had  been  a  few  settlers  almost  continuously  since  the 
time  of  La  Salle.  They  cultivated  the  soil  to  some 
extent,  but  for  the  most  part  were  interested  in  the 
Indian  trade.3  To  the  south  of  the  settlements  was  Fort 
Massac  (1710  or  1711),  a  Jesuit  mission  and  fortified 
trading  post.  This  post  was  situated  upon  the  Ohio, 
about  forty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  was  placed  there 
to  protect  the  French  from  the  marauding  Cherokee.4 
As  early  as  1714  Charville,  a  trader,  sent  out  by  Crozat's 
agents  on  the  Gulf,  went  among  the  Indians  on  the 
Cumberland  river  and  established  a  trading  post  on  the 

1  Jes.  ReL,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  101,  263,  264;  vol.  Ixiv,  p.  278;  Early  Voyages 
Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi,  pp.  60-65. 

1  Jes.  ReL,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  101-105;  vol.  Ixix,  p.  221;  La  Harpe,  p.  243; 
Archives  Nationales,  Colonies,  Serie  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  126;  Early 
Western  Travels,  vol.  iv,  p.  266 ;  Transactions  of  the  Illinois  State  His- 
torical Society,  No.  8,  p.  105 ;  No.  10,  pp.  58-61. 

1  A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxix,  fol.  85;  Jes.  ReL,  vol.  Ixiv,  p.  161, 
note  29;  Blanchard,  History  of  Illinois,  p.  55. 

4  Trans.  III.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  8,  1903,  pp.  38-64 ;  Chicago  Historical 
Society  Collections,  vol.  iii,  p.  55. 


30  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [30 

site  of  the  present  city  of  Nashville.1  In  1756  a  new 
fort  was  begun  at  the  mouth  of  Cherokee  river  and  was 
named  1'Ascension  (Ft.  Massac),  but  the  work  was 
stopped  owing  to  the  lack  of  funds.2  Fort  Ouiatanon 
on  the  upper  Wabash  marked  the  frontier  on  the  east. 
Here  a  fort  was  built  (1719  or  1720)  to  give  protection 
to  the  French  from  the  assaults  of  the  Iroquois.3  Later 
it  was  found  necessary  to  build  Fort  Vincennes  (1733  or 
J734)  on  the  lower  Wabash  in  order  to  keep  out  the 
English  traders.4 

In  1721  the  Spanish  from  New  Mexico  and  their 
Indian  allies  threatened  the  French  settlements  from  the 
west.  This  danger,  together  with  the  news  that  the 
Spanish  were  about  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  fort  upon 
the  Kansas  river,  caused  the  authorities  of  Louisiana  to 
send  an  order  to  the  Illinois  country  to  stop  this  aggres- 
sion. Accordingly  Fort  Orleans  (1724)  was  constructed 
not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  river.  This  frontier 
post  was  established  with  a  double  purpose :  to  check 
the  advance  of  the  Spaniards,  if  need  be,  though  prefer- 
ably to  build  up  a  trade  with  them;  and  secondly  for 
the  conclusion  of  alliances  and  the  establishment  of  trade 
with  the  neighboring  Indians.  Fort  Orleans,  however, 
did  not  prosper,  and  it  was  soon  suggested  that  the 
garrison  be  reduced  to  eight  men.5 

1  Ramsey,  The  Annals  of  Tennessee,  p.  45;  Winsor,  The  Mississippi 
Basin,  p.  87. 

2  Villiers  du  Terrage,  Les  Dernieres  Annees  de  la  Louisiane  Fran- 
(aise,  p.  79. 

3  Documents  Relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  vol.  ix,  p.  894;  Indiana  Historical  Society  Publications,  vol.  ii, 
P-  329. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  70-88;  Ser.  F*,  vol.  xxiv,  fol. 
241. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fols.  366-368;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  452;  Le 
Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  142. 


3i  ]  INTRODUCTION  „ 

The  Company  of  the  West,  in  1719,  gave  way  to  the 
Company  of  the  Indies.  This  corporation  continued  in 
control  of  the  province  of  Louisiana  until  1731,  when  it 
relinquished  its  powers  to  the  crown.  Bienville,  being 
the  most  prominent  as  well  as  the  most  influential  man  in 
Louisiana,  soon  became  governor.  Struggles  with  the 
other  colonial  officials  finally  led  to  Bienville's  recall  in 
1742  and  the  naming  of  Vaudreuil,  a  native  of  New 
France,  as  governor  of  Louisiana  in  his  place.  The 
new  governor  had  tact,  good  judgment  and  much  dig- 
nity, a  combination  which  enabled  him  to  govern  the 
province  with  as  little  friction,  perhaps,  as  was  possible, 
and  to  leave  it  for  a  higher  colonial  post  in  1752. 

Governor  Kerlerec,  who  succeeded  Vaudreuil,  was  a 
man  of  ability  and  integrity,  but  from  the  start  he  was 
handicapped  in  his  administration  of  the  colony.  He 
was  forced  to  begin  his  work  after  the  close  of  one,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  another  and  much  longer,  war.  He 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  obliged  to  work  with  several 
"  ordonnateurs,"  or  finance  officers,  and  finally  with  one 
whom  he  could  neither  direct  nor  restrain.  Against 
great  odds  he  managed  to  give  the  colony  as  good  a 
government  as  could  reasonably  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances,  and  was  recalled  only  when  Louisiana 
passed,  in  1763,  under  Spanish  and  English  control. 


CHAPTER  II 
WATERWAYS 

THE  huge  valley  lying  between  the  Great  Lakes  on  the 
north,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south,  the  Appalachian 
range  on  the  east,  and  the  Rockies  on  the  west,  is 
drained  by  the  Mobile  and  Mississippi  river  systems,  and 
a  few  single  rivers  flowing  directly  or  undirectly  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  For  the  smaller  boats  of  the  time  these 
rivers  furnished  highways  to  almost  every  part  of  the 
region.  Nine  of  the  chief  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  system, 
together  with  the  principal  rivers  of  the  Alabama  net- 
work, afford  sixteen  thousand  miles  of  navigable  water- 
ways. To  this  mileage,  however,  should  be  added  that 
supplied  by  a  large  number  of  smaller  rivers  and  streams 
used  in  making  exploring  and  trading  expeditions.  The 
navigable  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  indeed,  opened 
to  the  French  "  such  a  scene  of  inland  navigation  as 
cannot  be  paralleled  in  any  other  part  of  the  world."1 

Within  the  Mississippi  valley  there  are  various  places 
where  the  headwaters  of  the  two  systems  are  not  far  apart. 
Such  intervening  stretches  of  land  the  French  called  "port- 
ages," or  carrying  places.  From  the  Tombigbee  branch 
of  the  Mobile  system  it  is  possible  to  pass  over  a  port- 
age of  three  miles  to  the  Tennessee  river,  and  by  another 
branch  of  the  same  system  and  a  similar  carriage  almost 

1  Golden,  The  History  of  the  Five  Nations  of  Canada,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
36-37. 

32  [32 


333  WATERWAYS  33 

directly  to  the  lower  Mississippi.1  The  hostility  of  the 
Chickasaw  who  were  in  control  of  the  territory  in  which 
it  was  located  rendered  it  impossible,  however,  for  the 
French  ever  to  make  a  free  use  of  the  former  of  these 
two  connections. 

Then,  too,  New  Orleans  through  lake  and  stream  had 
water  communication  with  Mobile.  At  times  when  Lake 
Pontchartrain  overflowed  its  banks  it  afforded  an  unin- 
terrupted watercourse.  At  all  other  times,  however,  a 
carriage  over  the  bars  at  the  head  of  the  lake  was 
necessary.2 

The  waterways  of  Louisiana  were  rendered  still  more 
serviceable  by  the  discovery  of  many  convenient  portages 
from  one  to  another  branch  of  the  same  river  system. 
For  example,  a  trader  was  able  to  pass  from  a  branch  of 
the  Wisconsin  river  over  short  portages  to  the  Rock 
and  Illinois  rivers,  thus  shortening  the  route  to  his  place 
of  destination.3 

In  order  further  to  increase  the  utility  of  these  natural 
highways,  the  French  on  the  lower  Mississippi  con- 
structed canals,  either  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  more 
direct  route  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  of  joining  the 
Mississippi  with  the  bayous  at  the  rear  of  the  settlements. 
These  connections  with  the  Mississippi  were  used  for  the 
transportation  of  lumber.  In  1724  one  large  landholder 
across  the  river  from  New  Orleans  alone  had  between 
eight  and  ten  miles  of  such  canals.4  For  his  own  and 

1  Winsor,  The  Westward,  Movement,  p.  522,  map ;  Transactions  of 
the  Alabama  Historical  Society,  vol.  ii,  p.  44. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ix,  fol.  62 ;  A  Topographical  and  Statistical 
Account  of  the  Province  of  Louisiana,  p.  24. 

*  Golden,  vol.  ii,  pp.  36-37;  Parrish,  Historic  Illinois,  etc.,  p.  105. 

4  Archives,  Bibliotheque  du  Departement  des  Colonies,  Serie  G1,  vol. 
464;  Hutchins,  An  Historical,  Narrative  and  Topographical  Descrip- 
tion of  Louisiana  and  West  Florida,  p.  415. 


34  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [34 

the  use  of  the  public  as  well,  the  entrepreneur  of  public 
works  {entrepreneur  des  travaux  du  roi)  established 
water  connection  between  New  Orleans  and  Barataria 
Bay.  This  canal,  twenty-five  feet  wide  and  a  little  more 
than  three  leagues  long,  was  finished  in  1739  and  in  1741 
the  colony  was  deriving  considerable  benefit  from  it 
through  the  exportation  of  lumber  over  the  route.1  As 
early  as  1723  it  was  proposed  to  construct  a  canal  be- 
tween St.  Jean  Bay  and  Lake  Pontchartrain.2  The  work 
was  begun  in  1728;  but  it  was  some  years  later  before 
there  was  a  direct  waterway  through  canal,  lake  and 
stream  between  the  capital  and  Mobile.3 

The  internal  advantages  of  this  network  of  waterways 
did  not  exceed,  in  any  respect,  its  external  possibilities. 
The  Mississippi  afforded  close  connections  with  the 
Spanish  provinces  on  the  west,  and  was  in  such  proxim- 
ity to  the  rivers  of  the  Arctic  region  as  to  cause  them 
also  to  be  claimed  by  the  French.4  A  number  of  the 
branches  of  the  St.  Lawrence  system,  too,  took  their  rise 
near  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  thereby  affording  to 
the  French  colonies  in  North  America  good  highways 
for  intercolonial  intercourse. 

The  expedition  of  Joliet  and  Marquette  resulted  in  the 
discovery  and  use  of  the  Fox- Wisconsin  portage  which 
Marquette  states  was  about "  2700  paces  "  in  length.5  This 
distance,  however,  was  variable ;  continuous  water  passage 
from  one  to  the  other  was  available  during  a  period  of 
freshets.  In  the  dry  season  the  portage  was  about  a 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  31-32;  vol.  xxv,  fols.  193-194, 
268-272;  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  17. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fol.  260. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  20,  122 ;  vol.  xiii,  fols.  82-83. 

*  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  510-512. 
6  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  105. 


35]  WATERWAYS  35 

mile  and  a  half  wide.1  The  shortness  of  the  portage  and 
the  directness  of  the  journey  from  New  France  through 
Michilimackinac  to  the  Mississippi  made  this  route  at- 
tractive to  the  French  traveler  and  trader. 

By  1699,  the  very  year  that  the  first  permanent  settle- 
ment was  made  in  Louisiana,  the  Fox- Wisconsin  portage 
had  become  practically  closed  on  account  of  the  hostilities 
of  the  Fox  Indians.2  They  made  it  impossible  in  fact 
to  establish  a  military  post  along  this  route,  and  as  a  re- 
sult the  French  were  able  to  use  the  portage  only  during 
the  short  intervals  of  inter-tribal  peace.  At  the  same 
time  the  Fox-Dakota  alliance  closed  the  communication 
with  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  Michilimackinac,  Lake 
Superior  and  the  St.  Croix  portage.3  Thereupon  the 
French  changed  the  course  of  their  voyages  and  went 
from  Michilimackinac  to  the  Illinois  by  the  waterway 
leading  from  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan. 

Here  there  was  a  choice  of  several  routes  :  one  by  way 
of  the  two  Calumet  rivers,  over  a  portage  either  to  the 
Des  Plaines,  the  north,  or  to  the  Kankakee,  the  south, 
branch  of  the  Illinois  river;  another  by  the  Chicago-Des 
Plaines  route ;  a  third  by  the  St.  Joseph  river  which  of 
itself  affords  two  waterways.  Of  the  first  two  routes  the 
second  was  the  better  known,  and  hence  was  more  fre- 
quently used  by  the  French.  From  about  1685  a  French 
post  called  Miamis,  had  been  in  existence  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Chicago  river.4  Marquette,  in  fact,  made  his  return 

1  Winsor,  The  Miss.  Basin,  pp.  22-23,  map ;  Carver,  Travels  through 
the  Interior  Part  of  North  America  in  the  years  1766,  1767  and  1768, 
map. 

1  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  p.  49. 

s  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  22 ;  Carver,  map. 

*  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage  to  North  America,  etc.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  127,  139- 
140;  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  24;  Hennepin,  A  New  Discovery  of  a  Vast 
Country  in  America,  vol.  i,  p.  22,  map;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  161,  note, 


36  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [36 

voyage  by  the  Chicago-Des  Plaines  route  over  a  portage 
a  little  more  than  a  mile  in  length.1  St.  Cosme,  on  find- 
ing the  Fox-Wisconsin  highway  blocked  by  unfriendly 
Indians,  says  he  "was  obliged  to  take  the  Chicago 
route."  He  followed  this  river  until  it  is  "  lost  in  the 
prairie,"  whereupon,  in  order  to  reach  the  Illinois  he 
found  it  necessary  to  make  two  short  portages.2  The 
carrying- place  varied  from  four  to  nine  miles  in  length 
according  to  the  season  of  the  year.  Sometimes  during 
the  spring  freshets  it  was  not  over  a  mile,  and  when  the 
water  was  exceptionally  high  a  canoe  could  pass  from 
one  river  system  to  the  other.3  Charlevoix,  however, 
states  that  he  rejected  this  route  because  he  had  been 
told  that  in  summer  the  Des  Plaines  river  was  too  shallow 
at  times  to  be  used  for  canoes.4  In  that  case  the  length 
of  the  portage  would  be  as  much  as  ten  or  twelve  miles. 
The  Iroquois-Fox  alliance,  however,  pushed  the  Illinois 
Indians  southward  and  caused  the  abandonment  by  the 
French  of  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  upper  Illinois  river.s 
This  movement  left  the  Chicago  route  unguarded  and 
consequently  the  French  travelers  became  a  prey  to 
hostile  Indians.  The  route  then  gradually  fell  into  disuse 
and  by  1718  was  so  nearly  given  up  as  to  find  no  place 
on  the  French  maps  of  the  period.6 

PP.  313-314;  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  p.  51,  note;  Collections  and  Researches 
made  by  the  Michigan  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society,  vol.  xix,  p.  6; 
Deslisle's  Map,  1718. 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  161,  note;  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  p.  51. 

1  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  pp.  49-54. 

*  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  161,  note  41 ;  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  24. 
4  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  139. 

*  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  pp.  58-59 ;  Andreas,  The  History  of  Chicago, 
vol.  i,  p.  91. 

6  Delisle's  Map,  1718,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib.;  OLe  Gac,  Memoire  d'apres  les 
Voyages  sur  la  Louisiane,  map,  1722,  Newberry  Lib.,  Chicago. 


37]  WATERWAYS  3~ 

Once  more  travelers  from  Michilimackinac  to  the 
Illinois  country  were  forced  to  shift  the  course  of  their 
voyages  farther  to  the  east.1  They  now  went  up  the  St. 
Joseph  river,  from  which  they  passed  over  a  portage, 
varying  according  to  the  season  of  the  year  from  about 
three  to  five  miles  in  length,  to  the  Kankakee,  the 
south  fork  of  the  Illinois  river.2  In  1711  a  mission  sta- 
tion was  erected  on  the  St.  Joseph  sixty  leagues  from  its 
mouth,  and  the  following  year  the  French  constructed 
at  the  mission  a  military  post  which  they  occupied  to 
the  end  of  their  control  in  the  Mississippi  valley.3  This 
waterway  to  the  Illinois  country  was  further  protected 
in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  Miami 
Indians  who  checked  the  advance  of  the  Iroquois,  thereby 
affording  travelers  over  the  St.  Joseph-Kankakee  route 
some  degree  of  security.4  It  was  possible,  though  usually 
undesirable  because  of  the  circuitousness  of  the  course, 
to  go  from  the  St.  Joseph  over  a  portage  of  nine  miles  to 
the  Wabash  river,  down  which  one  could  pass  to  the 
Mississippi  and  thence  by  way  of  the  latter  to  the  Illinois 
country.5  The  St.  Joseph,  therefore,  formed  a  link  in 
each  of  three  routes  from  New  France  to  that  region. 
The  third  ran  from  Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Erie  and 
the  Maumee  river  to  the  St.  Joseph,  and  then  to  the 
Kankakee  and  Illinois. 6 

1  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  vol.  vi,  pp.  54-55- 

2  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  139;  Baker,  "The  St.  Joseph-Kankakee 
Portage,"  in  Northern  Indiana  Historical  Society  Publications,  p.  24; 
Coll.  and  Res.  Mich.  Pio.  and  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  x,  p.  248. 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  314,  note ;  Baker,  op.  cit.,  pp.  20,  36. 

4  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  26. 

5  Ibid.;  Hulbert,  Historic  Highways  of  America,  vol.  vii,  p.  175. 

8  Delisle's  Map,  1718;  Margry,  vol.  ii,  pp.  97,  98,  244,  248;  Vergennes, 
Memoire  Historique  et  Politique  sur  la  Louisiane,  p.  83. 


38  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [38 

With  the  growth  of  settlement  on  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi, intercourse  with  New  France  yearly  became  more 
frequent,  and  consequently  led  to  the  use  of  the  Maumee- 
Wabash-Kankakee  route,  which  was  known  perhaps  as 
early  as  1656'  and  was  certainly  known  to  both  La  Salle 
and  Allouez.2  In  1682  La  Salle  writes  of  it  as  the  short- 
est and  most  direct,  though  because  of  hostile  Iroquois, 
the  most  dangerous  route  from  New  France  to  the  Illi- 
nois.3 This  waterway,  therefore,  was  not  in  general  use 
until  the  Miami  Indians  had  repulsed  the  Iroquois-Fox 
alliance  and  located  themselves  upon  it  about  1715.* 
From  1718  onward  the  route  was  definitely  marked  out 
on  the  French  maps,  and  was  the  principal  highway 
between  New  Orleans  and  Detroit,  Montreal  and  Quebec.5 
In  order  to  give  further  protection  to  it,  the  French 
established  and  garrisoned  Fort  Ouiatanon  on  the  upper 
Wabash  river,  which  added  security  and  gave  great 
impetus  to  travel  over  the  Wabash-Maumee  route.6  Later 
they  found  it  necessary  to  establish  Fort  Vincennes  on 
the  lower  Wabash,  in  order  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  English  traders  who  were  now  rapidly  making  in- 
roads into  French  territory.7  This  route,  on  account  of 
the  military  protection  thus  given  and  its  short  portage 

1  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  26;  Benton,  The  Wabash  Trade  Route  in  the 
Development  of  the  Old  Northwest,  J.  H.  U.  Studies,  vol.  xxi,  p.  12; 
The  American  Antiquarian,  vol.  i,  p.  223,  Sanson's  Map. 

1  Benton,  op.  cit.,  p.  12;  Margry,  vol.  ii,  p.  98. 

*  Margry,  vol.  ii,  pp.  244,  296;  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  26. 

4  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  890,  894;  Reports  and  Collec- 
tions of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  vol.  viii,  p.  242; 
Winsor,  op.  cit.,  p.  26. 

5  Jefferys,  pt.  i,  p.  134,  map. 

6  Ind.  Hist.  Soc.  Pub.,  vol.  ii,  No.  8,  pp.  329,  330;  Doc.  Rel.  Col  Hist. 
N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  891,  894. 

1  Penn.  Col.  Papers,  p.  194;  Dunn,  Indiana,  pp.  45-55. 


39]  WATERWAYS  39 

of  only  about  nine  miles,  continued  throughout  the 
French  period  to  be  the  highway  most  frequently  used 
between  Louisiana  and  New  France.1 

The  more  eastern  branches  of  the  Mississippi  taking 
their  rise  close  to  the  St.  Lawrence  system  were  of  little 
use  to  the  French  since  they  were  almost  entirely  under 
the  control  of  the  Iroquois.  The  route  most  frequently 
followed  by  the  Indians  on  entering  the  Mississippi  valley 
was  by  way  of  Lake  Erie  to  the  Sandusky  river,  from 
this  river  over  a  portage  of  about  a  mile  to  the  Scioto  river 
and  thence  directly  to  the  Ohio.2  The  Indians  made  use 
also  of  a  route  from  Lake  Erie  by  way  of  the  Cuyahoga 
river  which  they  ascended  to  its  forks.  Here  they  either 
passed  up  the  west  branch  of  that  river  to  the  head  of 
navigation  and  made  a  portage  of  about  eight  miles  to 
the  east  fork  of  the  Muskingum  river,  or  passed  up  the 
east  branch  of  the  Cuyahoga  to  a  portage  connection 
with  Big  Beaver  creek  which  flows  into  the  Ohio  about 
thirty  miles  below  Pittsburgh  Over  these,  and  no  doubt 
over  some  other  less  frequented  routes,  the  traders  from 
New  York  followed  the  Indians  into  the  Mississippi 
valley. 

There  were  connections  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  rivers  of  the  Atlantic  coast  plain,  also,  that  were  con- 
venient for  the  traders.  Pennsylvania,  through  the  Sus- 
quehanna  and  the  Juniata,  had  good  portage  communica- 
tion with  the  Allegheny  branch  of  the  Ohio,  while 
Virginia  had  access  to  another  and  even  more  direct 

1  Board  of  Trade  Papers,  vol.  x,  pt.  2,  1718-1720,  Penn.  Hist.  Soc. 
Trans.,  Vergennes,  p.  84;  Coll.  and  Res.  Mich.  Pio.  and  Hist.  Soc., 
vol.  xix,  p.  5. 

1  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  886. 

*  An  Account  of  the  Remarkable  Occurrences  in  the  Life  of  Col. 
James  Smith,  etc.,  Ohio  Valley  Hist.  Series,  No.  5,  PP-  5$,  172,  note. 


40  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [40 

route  by  way  of  the  Potomac  river  to  the  Monongahela 
branch.1  The  Carolina  rivers,  too,  allowed  for  comfort- 
able portages  with  the  Tennessee,  Cumberland  and 
Alabama  rivers.2  With  the  exception  of  Fort  Toulouse 
on  the  upper  water  of  the  Alabama,  however,  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  province  and  the  existence  of  the  Chickasaw- 
Iroquois  alliance  made  it  impossible  for  the  French  to 
protect  these  entrances  to  Louisiana  by  military  posts. 
Therefore  they  became  English,  rather  than  French, 
highways  into  the  Mississippi  valley. 

The  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  chief  connection 
of  Louisiana  by  sea  with  the  outside  world,  were  shallow 
for  a  considerable  distance  from  the  coast.  The  whole 
of  the  Louisiana  coast,  in  fact,  was  skirted  by  a  "  barrier- 
beach,"  "little  banks  of  sand  forming  a  sort  of  double 
coast  at  a  distance  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  toise  from  the 
shore."3  Moreover  the  whole  of  the  coast  "  was  so  flat, 
that  it  could  hardly  be  seen  at  a  distance  of  two  leagues 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  get  up  to  it."4 

Mobile  Bay,  however,  which  was  about  thirty  miles 
long  and  from  four  to  eight  miles  wide  and  deep  enough 
for  all  the  largest  boats,  could  be  entered  with  compara- 
tive ease.5  As  a  rule  European  vessels  did  not  pass  up  the 
bay.  Landing  places  were  poor,  and  the  Mobile  and  its 
branches  were  too  narrow  and  winding  to  make  it  pos- 
sible for  sea-going  vessels  to  go  far  inland.6  Therefore* 

1  Ellet,  The  Physical  Geography  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  pp.  6-9. 
*  Winsor,  op.  cit.,  pp.  19-20. 

3  Chaville,  "La  Voyage  en  Louisiane,"  1720-1724,  in  Journal  de  la  So- 
ciete  des  Ameritanistes  de  Paris,  1903,  vol.  iv,  p.  124. 

4  Raynal,  A  Philosophical  and  Political  History  of  the  Settlement  and 
Trade  of  the  Europeans  in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  vol.  v,  p.  253. 

8  Chaville,  vol.  iv,  p.  124;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  532-533- 
6  Charlevoix,  History  and  General  Description  of  New  France,  vol. 
vi,  pp.  36,  38,  39- 


4I]  WATERWAYS  4I 

Dauphin  Island,  a  part  of  the  "  barrier-beach,"  was  used 
as  a  landing  place.1 

Biloxi  Bay  could  be  entered  only  by  shallops  not  in 
excess  of  a  hundred  tons.  Larger  boats  could  go  na 
nearer  Biloxi  than  five  leagues.  Here,  however,  they 
found  good  anchorage  in  the  roadstead  in  front  of  Ship 
Island,  also  a  part  of  the  "  barrier-beach."2  To  go  inland 
from  Biloxi  it  was  necessary  to  pass  up  narrow  shallow 
streams  so  clogged  in  places  with  floating  logs  as  to 
necessitate  a  resort  to  portages.3 

The  shallowness  of  the  water  along  the  coast  caused 
the  Mississippi  river  to  enter  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  through 
a  number  of  mouths,  all  of  which  were  more  or  less 
obstructed  by  sand  bars.  In  1700  it  was  claimed  there 
was  not  more  than  eleven  feet  of  water  in  any  of  the 
various  mouths  and  in  most  of  them  much  less.4  "  These 
openings,"  it  was  said,  "are  constantly  changing  and 
most  of  them  have  but  little  depth  of  water."5  To  the 
west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  the  French  made  no- 
use  of  the  Gulf  coast  as  harbors,  except  occasionally  in- 
their  attempts  to  build  up  a  trade  with  the  Spanish  in 
Mexico. 

1  La  Harpe,  pp.  94,  105,  107,  108,  no,  128,  131,  132. 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  165 ;  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  vi,  p.  39. 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  620-621 ;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  171. 

4  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  171 ;  Raynal,  vol.  v.  p.  253. 

4  Raynal,  vol.  v,  p.  253. 


CHAPTER  III 
NAVIGATION 

WITH  the  exception  of  the  Chickasaw  who  were 
much  afraid  of  the  water,1  the  French  on  their  entrance 
into  the  Mississippi  valley  found  the  Indians  using  the 
rivers  as  highways.2  This  example  probably  had  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  white  travelers,  yet  the  physiography  of 
the  country  was  undoubtedly  the  determining  factor 
which  caused  them  to  adopt  and  continue  to  use  the 
same  mode  of  travel,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in 
making  such  voyages  hindrances  almost  innumerable  had 
to  be  overcome. 

In  passing  down  the  Mississippi  the  French  found  the 
current  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  powerful  and  im- 
petuous; a  little  farther  down  stream  a  rocky  cliff  ex- 
tended into  the  river  and  formed  a  whirlpool  where  the 
water  was  constantly  boiling  up,  whirling  around  and 
lashing  itself  into  foam  against  the  shores.3  Continuing 
the  descent,  they  found  enormous  floating  trees,  with 
dangerous  currents  near  them,  high  dense  woods  on  the 
banks  keeping  out  the  winds,4  and  many  other  obstacles 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country  and  Inhabitants,  European  and 
Indians  of  Louisiana  on  the  North  Continent  of  America,  1744,  p.  8. 
1  Golden,  vol.  ii,  pp.  36-37;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Iviii,  p.  97. 

3  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  pp.  65,  68 ;  Jefferys,  pt.  i,  p.  138. 

4  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  109-161 ;  Pittman,  The  Present  State  of  the 
European  Settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  pp.  36-37. 

42  [42 


43]  NAVIGATION  43 

such  as  sand  bars,  permanent  islands,  wooded  islands,1 
"planters"2  and  "sawyers,"3  any  one  of  which  could 
easily  and  often  did  put  their  boats  out  of  commission.4 
Moreover,  throughout  the  course  there  were  few  camp- 
ing or  landing  places  and  the  many  bends  in  the  river, 
varying  from  three  to  eight  miles,  made  the  journey  by 
water  double  the  distance  by  land.  One  traveler  in  re- 
lating his  voyage  down  stream  says  "we  boxed  the  com- 
pass in  three  hours  travel,  and  went  half  around  in  going 
two  leagues."  Necessarily,  therefore,  navigation  on  the 
Mississippi  was  for  the  French  "  slow,  tedious  and  very 
difficult."  s 

To  all  these  difficulties  must  be  added  the  bodily  dis- 
comforts from  tornadoes,  heavy  rains,  excessive  heat, 
scarcity  of  food  and  drinking  water,  black  flies,  gnats 
and  mosquitoes.6  The  torture  of  the  mosquito  alone  is 
said  by  one  traveler  to  have  been  so  intense  that  every 
thing  else  in  comparison  with  it  seemed  "  only  a  recrea- 
tion." He  believed  "  the  plagues  of  Egypt  were  not 
more  cruel,"  and  asserted  that  the  "little  insect  had 
caused  more  swearing  since  the  French  came  to  the 
Mississippi  than  had  been  done  before  that  time  in  all  the 

1  These  were  places  where  large  quantities  of  drift-wood  had  been 
arrested  and  matted  together. 

*  "  Planters "  were  trunks  of  trees  firmly  fastened  by  their  roots  to 
the  bottom  of  the  river  and  appearing  no  more  than  about  one  foot 
above  water  when  at  medium  height.    The  largest  boats  running  against 
these  would  not  move  them. 

J  "  Sawyers  "  were  trunks  of  trees  also  fastened  to  the  bottom,  but 
yielding  to  the  force  of  the  current  and  appearing  and  disappearing 
like  the  movements  of  a  saw. 

4  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  in,  153;  Bossu,  vol.  ii,  pp.  113-114;  Hutchins, 
p.  412 ;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xi,  fol.  33- 

*  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  137,  159,  i<Si. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  in,  113,  127,  137,  155,  161;  vol.  Ixvii,  p.  291. 


44  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [44 

rest  of  the  world."  Be  that  as  it  may,  a  swarm  of  mos- 
quitoes set  out  with  the  traveler  in  the  morning ;  at  night 
when  he  landed  it  was  "  mosquitoes'  hour." * 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  to  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  travel  was  somewhat  less  strenuous.  Here 
the  many  bends  and  numerous  islands  greatly  abated 
the  force  of  the  current.  On  the  other  hand  there  were 
in  this  stretch  of  the  Mississippi  two  rock  obstructions 
that  formed  rapids, — one  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rock 
river  some  fifteen  miles  in  length,  the  other  a  short  dis- 
tance above  the  Des  Moines  river  about  eleven  miles 
long,*  which  at  low  water  interrupted  navigation.  At 
such  times  travelers  were  forced  to  "discharge  their  boats 
and  get  into  the  water  and  push  them  along  with  their 
hands."3 

On  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  the  navigation 
was  very  similar  to  that  on  the  main  river  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  All  but  the  Missouri  were 
shallow  except  during  flood  times,  and  above  the  rapids, 
usually,  it  was  necessary  to  make  the  voyage  in  boats 
smaller  than  those  used  below  the  falls.4  Belief  indeed 
was  expressed  in  Louisiana  that  the  difficulties  attendant 
upon  these  journeys  would  prevent  the  establishment  of 
trade  between  the  different  parts  of  the  province.  On 
this  point  Governor  Cadillac  writes : 

Is  it  to  be  expected  that  for  any  commercial  or  profitable 
purpose  boats  will  ever  be  able  to  run  up  the  Mississippi 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixvii,  pp.  293-297. 

*  Leveret,  "  The  Lower  Rapids  of  the  Mississippi  River,"  in  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Iowa  Academy  of  Science,  1898,  vol.  vi,  p.  74. 

8  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  411-412;  Jefferys,  p.  135. 

4  Jefferys,  p.  136;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  107;  Hennepin,  A  New  Dis- 
covery, etc.,  vol.  i,  pp.  186,  221-226;  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage  to  No.  Am., 
etc.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  139-140;  Early  Voyages,  etc.,  p.  171. 


45]  NAVIGATION  45 

into  the  W abash,  the  Missouri,  or  the  Red  rivers  ?  One 
might  as  well  try  to  bite  a  slice  off  the  moon.  Not  only  are 
these  rivers  as  rapid  as  the  Rhone,  but  in  their  crooked  courses 
they  imitate  to  perfection  a  snake's  undulations.  Hence,  for 
instance,  on  every  turn  of  the  Mississippi  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  wait  for  a  change  of  wind,  could  it  be  had,  because  this 
river  is  so  lined  up  with  woods  that  very  little  wind  has  ac- 
cess to  its  bed.1 

Fortunately  for  Louisiana  this  sort  of  opinion  was  not 
prevalent.  As  early  as  1700  boats  were  making  voyages 
from  the  Illinois  country  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  All 
the  voyages,  however,  did  not  start  from  the  Illinois 
country.  In  1700  La  Sueur  left  Biloxi  to  go  up  the 
Mississippi  to  the  mines  supposed  to  be  located  upon 
the  upper  waters  of  that  river.2 

The  growth  of  settlement  in  the  Illinois  country  and 
on  the  lower  Mississippi  caused  a  proportional  increase 
in  the  voyages  between  these  two  places.  Throughout 
the  period  of  French  occupation  single  boats  from  time 
to  time  made  voyages  to  all  parts  of  Louisiana,  yet  by 
far  the  larger  number  of  expeditions,  especially  between 
New  Orleans  and  the  Illinois  country,  were  made  by 
convoys  of  from  two  to  twenty  or  more  boats.3  Not 
infrequently  a  number  of  armed  men  were  designated  by 
the  government  to  accompany  the  little  fleet  as  a  guard, 
the  size  of  which  varied  with  the  degree  of  danger 
attendant  upon  the  voyage  and  the  number  of  men  in 
the  colony  available  for  such  work.  Before  starting  on 
the  journey  this  military  escort  appointed  one  of  its  own 

1  Lowry  and  MoCardle,  A  History  of  Mississippi,  etc.,  p.  36. 

2  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  402-415. 

*  Pittman,  p.  36;  Kerlerec's  Report,  1758,  p.  60;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  pp.  33, 
113;  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  358;  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C1S,  vol.  xiii,  fols.  85-86; 
Rec.  Am.  Cath.  Hist.  Soc.  Phila.,  vol.  x,  p.  206. 


46  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [46 

men  as  a  leader,  or  asked  the  officials  to  give  them  one 
whose  duty  it  was  to  take  charge  of  the  guard,  to  name 
the  men  who  were  to  be  on  duty  during  meal  time  and 
during  the  encampment  for  the  night,  and  in  general  to 
give  commands.  In  1732  twenty  men  were  given  as  a 
military  escort  for  four  pirogues  of  "voyageurs"  going 
from  New  Orleans  to  the  Illinois  country.1 

Whoever  made  these  journeys  soon  learned  that  the 
best  time  to  leave  the  Illinois  country  for  New  Orleans 
was  about  the  beginning  of  February,  when  the  water 
was  high  and  flowing  at  the  rate  of  something  like  five 
miles  an  hour,  which  would  give  an  advantage  of  three 
miles  an  hour  over  a  voyage  made  during  low  water.3 
Then,  too,  as  at  this  time  of  year  the  land  on  both  sides 
of  the  Mississippi  was  flooded,  and  the  Indians  were 
engaged  in  hunting,  both  circumstances  helped  to  insure 
the  traveler  against  Indian  attacks.3 

In  order  to  avoid  the  impetuous  currents  and  to  reach 
the  Illinois  country  before  winter  set  in,  convoys  going 
up  stream  usually  left  New  Orleans  sometime  between 
August  and  November.  In  most  cases  enough  time  was 
thus  given  for  the  journey  and  for  a  stay  of  sufficient 
length  to  dispose  of  the  cargo  and  to  take  on  another 
for  the  return  trip  at  flood  times.4  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, the  allotted  time  was  not  adequate,  and  the  convoy 
was  forced  to  encamp  and  wait  for  the  ice  to  break  in 
the  spring  before  completing  the  voyage.5  During  this 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xiv,  fol.  48;  Ser.  F*,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  361; 
Pittman,  p.  36. 
1  Pittman,  pp.  36-37. 
8  The  Olden  Times,  vol.  i,  p.  319. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O8,  vol.  viii,  fols.  451-461 ;  Ser.  F»,  vol.  xxiv,  fol. 
361;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  pp.  33,  in,  158;  Pittman,  p.  36. 

5  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  158. 


47]  NAVIGATION  47 

stay  of  the  boatmen  in  the  Illinois  country  there  was  a 
safe  and  comfortable  harbor  for  the  boats  on  the  Kas- 
kaskia  river  where  they  could  be  anchored  while  prepara- 
tions were  being  made  for  the  return  trip.1 

The  convoys  were  owned  both  by  private  parties  and 
by  the  colonial  government.  Bienville,  in  1722,  sent 
out  an  order  to  all  the  posts  along  the  river  between 
New  Orleans  and  the  Illinois  country  to  give  every 
possible  protection  to  the  government  convoys,2  which 
even  with  this  help  in  many  cases  were  managed  badly. 
The  captains  in  charge  of  the  convoys  were  often  selfish 
and  dishonest  men  who  sought  chiefly  to  advance  their 
own  interests;  moreover  the  amount  of  merchandise 
carried  was  thought  to  be  too  small  for  the  number  of 
men  in  the  crew;  consequently  before  1723  the  "inspec- 
teur  "  of  the  colony  had  made  two  journeys  to  the  Illi- 
nois country  for  the  purpose  of  finding  ways  and  means 
of  making  the  river  service  more  efficient.3  The  gov- 
ernment, notwithstanding  these  irregularities,  sent  out 
annually  two  convoys  made  up  of  seven  or  eight  boats 
each,  one  of  which  left  New  Orleans  in  the  fall,  the  other 
in  the  spring.4  During  the  intercolonial  wars,  the  offi- 
cials were  obliged  to  supplement  the  regular  convoys  by 
extra  ones.5 

When  hostilities  began  between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish on  the  upper  Ohio,  convoys  carrying  food  and 
ammunition,  were  annually  sent  out  from  the  Illinois 
country  to  Fort  Du  Quesne.  These  convoys  left  in  time 
to  pass  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  at  time  of  high  water ;  other- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  Cis,  vol.  xxxv,  fol,  128. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  314. 

*  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  viii,  fols,  451-461. 

4  Ibid.;  Pittman,  p.  36.  5  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  33- 


4g  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [48 

wise  they  were  put  to  the  trouble  of  a  portage,  Before 
the  war  had  been  long  in  progress  similar  convoys  went 
up  the  Wabash  to  the  French  troops  in  Canada.1  These, 
however,  did  not  prevent  others  leaving  the  Illinois  for 
New  Orleans  just  as  they  had  done  before  the  rupture 
with  the  English.2  During  the  war  it  was  necessary  to 
provide  much  larger  companies  of  soldiers  in  order  to 
give  adequate  protection  to  the  boatmen.3 

The  added  war  dangers  proved  to  be  no  more  of  a 
deterrent  to  these  persevering  Frenchmen  than  the  natu- 
ral obstacles  attendant  upon  the  way  had  been  when  such 
journeys  were  first  undertaken,  and  each  year  many  boats 
passed  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  between  the  Illinois 
country  and  New  Orleans.  Moreover,  the  boat  traffic  on 
the  Mississippi  between  the  capital  and  the  neighboring 
settlements  reached  considerable  proportions  before  the 
end  of  the  French  control  of  Louisiana.  Trips  were 
made  down  the  river  with  supplies  for  the  weekly  mar- 
ket and  for  fete  days,  while  boats  were  sent  to  the  capital 
with  large  cargoes  of  lumber  and  other  colonial  products.4 
From  New  Orleans,  also,  frequent  journeys  were  under- 
taken by  way  of  lake  and  stream  to  Mobile  and  from 
here  up  the  rivers  to  Forts  Toulouse  and  Tombecbee-5 

All  along  the  Mississippi  where  there  were  settlements 
on  both  banks  of  the  river  numerous  boats  were  used 
only  in  plying  from  shore  to  shore.6  In  the  Illinois 

1Bossu,   vol.   i,   p.  179;  Kerlerec's  Report,  1758,  pp.  69-70;  A.  N.,  C., 
Ser.  C13,vol.  xxxvii,  fols.  188-190;  Trans.  III.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  n,  p.  222. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  26;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  608. 

8  Pittman,  p.  36;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  33;  Chalmer's  Papers  Relating  to  the 
Indians,  1750-1775,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  138. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  46-50;  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  159. 
'  Le  Page  du  Prat2,  vol.  ii,  p.  186. 


49]  NAVIGATION  49 

country  there  were  also  two  ferries,  one  at  Cahokia,  the 
other  between  Kaskaskia  and  St.  Genevieve.  Both  were 
in  use  at  the  time  that  France  relinquished  control  of  the 
province;  the  latter  having  been  in  operation  since  1727, 
some  years  before  the  settlement  of  St.  Genevieve  was 
begun.  The  ferry  at  Cahokia  made  it  possible  in  1763 
for  the  French  settlers  who  wished  to  migrate  from  the 
English  to  the  Spanish  part  of  Louisiana  to  take  with 
them  all  their  movable  property.1 

Difficulties  to  navigation  were  not  wholly  confined  to 
that  between  the  different  settlements  of  Louisiana.  In 
the  north  the  ice  often  blocked  the  water  routes.  In 
such  cases  the  canoe,  when  the  wind  was  favorable,  was 
converted  into  an  ice-boat.  One  traveler  writes  :  "  instead 
of  putting  the  canoe  into  the  water,  we  placed  it  upon 
the  ice,  over  which  the  wind,  which  was  in  our  favor, 
and  a  sail  made  it  go  as  on  water.  When  the  wind 
failed  us,  in  place  of  paddles  we  used  ropes  to  draw  it 
along,  as  horses  draw  carriages."  *  Tonty,  in  the  Illinois 
country,  says  :  "  the  river  being  frozen  we  made  sledges 
and  dragged  our  baggage  thirty  leagues  below  the  villages 
of  Illinois."3  In  the  south  the  natural  formation  of  the 
Gulf  coast,  as  shown  above,  provided  few  landing  places 
for  the  vessels  coming  to  the  colony  and  even  in  fair 
weather  a  ship  might  easily  be  stranded  for  days  on  low- 
lying  sand-bars.  If  the  misfortune  occurred  at  the  time 
of  a  violent  storm  it  was  certain  to  cause  the  vessel's 
destruction.4 

In    1717  a    storm  entirely  choked    up  the  harbor  at 

1  Breese,  The  Early  History  of  Illinois,  etc.,  App.,  p.  290 ;  Trans.  III. 
Hist.  Soc.,  No.  12,  pp.  217-218. 
1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ix,  pp.  151,  161. 
s  Hist.  Colls.  La.,  pt.  i,  p.  59. 
*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  29-30,  100-102. 


50  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [50 

Dauphin  Island.  One  day  a  vessel  on  entering  found 
twenty-one  feet  of  water  in  the  channel  through  which  it 
passed.  Two  days  later,  on  attempting  to  pass  out  over 
the  same  course,  it  stuck  in  the  sand  and  had  to  be  un- 
loaded and  taken  out  through  a  different  channel  where 
there  was  not  above  ten  feet  of  water.1  Nothing  like  this 
had  occurred  since  the  French  had  established  themselves 
on  the  Mobile,  but  the  experience  contributed  much  to 
the  founding  of  New  Biloxi.  At  this  new  post  vessels 
were  obliged  to  anchor  in  the  roadstead  in  front  of  Ship 
Island.  From  this  point  the  cargo  was  carried  to  New 
Biloxi  in  smaller  boats  and  from  here  up  the  Manchac, 
where  a  second  transfer  was  necessary  in  order  to  get 
supplies  to  the  colonists  located  in  the  interior  settle- 
ments.2 

The  growing  importance  of  the  establishments  along 
the  Mississippi  river  each  year  made  it  more  and  more 
desirable  that  the  ships  from  France  should  land  their 
loads  in  closer  proximity  to  these  places.  To  this  end 
Bienville,  in  1722,  in  the  face  of  violent  opposition,  suc- 
ceeded in  having  New  Biloxi  abandoned.  This  act  did 
away  with  the  only  depot  on  the  Gulf  coast  in  which 
merchandise  destined  for  the  Mississippi  settlements  was 
received,  and  therefore  forced  the  boats  to  sail  directly 
to  New  Orleans.3 

New  perils  were  thus  added  to  the  long  dangerous  sea 
voyage.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  the  vessels 
were  in  danger  of  collision  with  huge  floating  logs  that 
came  rushing  down  the  river  with  great  force.4  Having 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  548;  La  Harpe,  p.  132. 
J  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  x,  fol.  158. 

3  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  639-646. 

4  Raynal,  vol.  v,  p.  253. 


5i  ]  NAVIGATION  „ 

escaped  these  hazards,  it  required  even  greater  vigilance 
to  pass  safely  the  bars  which,  almost  from  the  beginning 
of  their  occupation  of  Louisiana  the  French  knew  were 
located  in  all  of  the  numerous  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.1 

In  order  to  find  the  way  to  improve  conditions  at  the 
mouth  of  that  river,  in  1717  the  home  government 
ordered  the  royal  engineer  and  director  of  the  Company 
to  make  soundings  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
length  of  the  bars  and  the  depth  of  the  water  over  them, 
and  the  course  and  rapidity  of  the  current.  This  infor- 
mation, together  with  the  date  on  which  the  investiga- 
tions were  made,  were  to  be  sent  to  France.2  The  next 
year  the  command  was  again  given,  along  with  an  order 
to  the  Louisiana  engineer,  to  try  to  remove  the  bars  by 
means  of  iron  dredges,  of  which  the  French  government 
sent  over  six,  together  with  four  grappling-irons.  These 
contrivances  were  to  be  passed  over  the  bars  in  order  to 
stir  up  the  mud  and  thus  cause  it  to  pass  out  of  the 
channel  with  the  flow  of  the  water.3 

In  1719  more  explicit  orders  concerning  the  improve- 
ment of  conditions  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  were 
sent  out.  The  engineer  was  told  to  examine  the  bars 
with  the  idea  of  their  removal,  either  by  means  of  dredges 
or  other  similar  devices,  or  by  dykes  or  other  water 
obstructions,  whereby  the  bulk  of  the  water  would  be  sent 
through  one  channel,  thereby  increasing  the  force  of  the 
current  and  causing  it  to  clear  its  own  channel.  The 
engineer  was  directed  to  erect  at  the  entrance  of  the 
river  two  small  towers  sufficiently  high  so  that  they 
could  be  seen  at  a  considerable  distance  during  the  day 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  171 ;  Pittman,  p.  35. 
1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  598-599. 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  602-603. 


52  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [$2 

and  on  which  throughout  the  night  lights  were  always 
to  be  kept  burning.  He  was  further  instructed  to  make 
an  exact  map  of  the  channels,  along  with  which  he  was 
to  send  to  France  an  estimate  of  the  work  necessary  to 
make  them  navigable.1  Accordingly  the  engineer,  after 
making  the  needful  soundings,  sent  in  a  report  to  the 
home  government,  in  1722,  stating  that  the  lighthouses 
at  the  entrance  of  the  river  were  in  operation,  and  that 
it  was  believed  that  the  river  itself  could  be  made  to 
remove  permanently  all  the  bars  at  the  entrance.  The 
cost  of  the  work  to  accomplish  it  he  believed  would  not 
be  great.2  Notwithstanding  this  favorable  report  nothing 
further,  at  this  time,  was  done  toward  the  removal  of 
the  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

Sixteen  years  later,  in  1738,  the  royal  engineer  reported 
as  follows : 

There  are  daily  changes  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the 
Balise  bar.  It  has  been  remarked  that,  when  the  winter  is 
short  and  the  north  wind  has  not  prevailed  much,  these 
changes  become  more  perceptible  and  the  water  is  not  so 
deep.  This  may  proceed  from  the  existence  of  two  other 
passes,  through  which  water  runs  with  more  rapidity  than  in 
the  one  which  is  called  the  Balise.  .  .  .  To  obviate  this  incon- 
venience, the  India  Company,  some  twelve  years  since,  had 
caused  to  be  constructed  iron  harrows  (herses),  which  were 
dragged  over  the  bar,  but  this  expedient  had  its  disadvantages 
....  it  removed  the  soft  mud,  and  left  the  sand,  which, 
forming  a  solid  and  compact  body,  would,  in  time,  not  only 
have  interfered  with  the  passage  of  ships,  but  have  prevented 
it  altogether.  This  caused  the  harrows  to  be  abandoned.  As 
the  ships  of  the  company  were  large,  and  could  not  pass 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  609,  612-613. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  632-633;  La  Harpe,  pp.  247-248;  Bernard,  Recufil  de  Voy- 
age au  Nord,  vol.  v,  p.  33. 


53l 


NAVIGATION 


without  being  lightened,  a  small  vessel  (flute)  was  left  sta- 
tioned on  the  Balise  bar,  to  receive  part  of  the  cargoes,  and 
the  spot  where  this  vessel  happened  to  be  anchored,  deepened 
gradually  to  twenty-five  feet.  From  this  fact  the  inference 
has  been  drawn,  that,  to  deepen  entirely  the  Balise,  it  would 
be  proper  to  have  a  vessel  drawing  eighteen  feet,  in  the  hold 
of  which  brick  wells  should  be  constructed.  By  alternately 
pumping  water  into  and  out  of  this  well,  the  vessel  would 
rise  and  sink  at  will ;  and  by  running  her  up  and  down  over 
the  bar,  it  is  evident  that  she  would  cut  a  channel  through. 
It  is  true  this  would  be  expensive,  but  the  utility  of  the  meas- 
ure would  be  incalculable.1 

The  home  government  seems  not  to  have  acted  upon 
this  ingenious  method  of  clearing  the  Balise  channel. 
War  at  home  was  occupying  too  much  of  the  time  of  the 
French  officials  for  them  to  consider  this  colonial  work. 
The  Balise  channel  continued  to  be  the  one  most  com- 
monly made  use  of,  but  it  was  necessary  to  keep  a  pilot 
constantly  employed  in  making  soundings. 

This  royal  pilot  was  stationed  at  the  Balise  to  be 
in  readiness  to  meet  the  ships  and  conduct  them 
over  the  bars."  In  his  report  to  the  home  government 
in  1750,  the  chief  pilot  there  wrote: 

For  these  twenty-five  years  during  which  I  have  been  em- 
ployed here  in  the  piloting  vessels  in  and  out,  I  rarely  took 
them  out  by  the  same  way  in  which  I  took  them  in  ;  and  these 
changes  generally  happened  in  October  when  this  river  has 
not  much  current.* 

Nothing  further  was  done  to  remove  the  obstructions. 
When  it  passed  them,  a  ship  could  go  on  up  the  river 

1  Gayarre,  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  i,  pp.  500-502. 
*  Pittman,  p.  35 ;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  205. 
3  Gayarre,  op.  cit.,  App.,  ii,  p.  361. 


54  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [54 

where  there  was  sufficient  depth  of  water  for  any  of  the 
ocean  vessels.  At  eight  leagues  from  the  mouth,  how- 
ever, there  was  a  bend  which  made  it  necessary  for  a 
boat  to  wait  for  a  favorable  wind.  During  a  delay  that 
might  vary  from  a  day  to  a  month,  the  ship  could  make 
fast  to  a  tree  on  bank  and  "haul  close."1  From  this 
point  boats  found  no  further  obstacle  in  the  way  to  New 
Orleans,  above  which  sea-going  vessels  rarely  passed. 

1  Pittman,  p.  35 ;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  pp.  257,  259. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BOATS 

THE  French  began  to  navigate  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries  in  boats  closely  resembling  those  used  by  the 
Indians  of  the  lake  region.  Joliet  and  his  companions 
made  their  voyage  of  discovery  down  the  Mississippi  in 
two  canoes  "  built  of  birch-bark,  cedar  splits,  and  ribs  of 
spruce  covered  with  yellow  pine  pitch,  so  light  and 
strong,  that  they  could  be  carried  across  portages  on  the 
shoulders  of  four  men."1  By  1700  there  were  many  of 
those  canoes  plying  up  and  down  the  rivers  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley.  Usually  they  were  put  together  with 
bark  and  splits,  yet  it  was  not  unknown  for  the  Indians, 
and  French  as  well,  to  make  them  out  of  large  buffalo 
hides,  stretched  over  a  framework  of  willow  poles.  These 
were  called  "  bull-boats."  They  were  used  chiefly  in 
emergencies  and  could  be  made  large  enough  to  carry 
five  or  six  persons  across  the  lake  or  river." 

Canoes  were  referred  to  by  the  French  as  "  two-place," 
"  three-place,"  etc.  according  to  the  number  of  men  in 
the  crew.  A  "  two-place "  canoe  was  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  feet  long  and  could  carry,  in  addition  to  its 
human  freight,  from  three  to  four  hundred  pounds  of 
merchandise,  whereas  a  "  four-place  "  canoe  was  as  much 
as  twenty  feet  long,  and  had  a  capacity,  similarly,  of  from 

1  Shea,  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  7. 

1  A,,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fols.  109-164;  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  607;  vol. 
v,  p.  357;  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West,  vol. 
i,  P-  35- 

55]  55 


5  6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [56 

one  thousand  to  two  thousand  pounds.  Besides  these 
smaller  boats  the  French  early  began  the  construction  of 
larger  vessels  which  they  called  "  master  canoes  "  (canots 
maitres).  These  were  about  thirty-six  feet  long  and 
large  enough  to  carry  fourteen  persons  and  a  correspond- 
ing amount  of  freight.  They  were  usually  four  feet  wide 
by  two  anda  half  feet  deep  in  the  middle,  and  two  at  the 
bow  and  stern.1  Sometimes  they  had  seats,  placed  a  little 
lower  in  the  canoe  than  the  cross-pieces  that  held  the  boat 
in  shape.  La  Salle,  in  fact,  began  the  construction  at 
Fort  Crevecoeur  in  1683  of  a  "  mastercanoe"  that  was 
forty  two  feet  keel  by  twelve  feet  beam.2 

Bark  canoes  had  no  rudders  and  the  boatmen  pro- 
pelled them  by  the  "  force  of  their  arms  with  some  pad- 
dles." 3  Sometimes  when  the  wind  was  favorable,  a  sail, 
made  of  thin  birch-bark  and  fastened  to  upright  poles 
placed  in  holes  in  the  cross-bars  of  the  boat,  was  used. 4 
Canoes  of  this  sort  were  admirably  suited  to  river  navi- 
tion  where  there  were  no  rapids,  and  where  portagages 
from  one  river  to  another  were  necessary.5  Their  use, 
however,  was  by  no  means  limited  to  the  upper  waters 
of  the  rivers.  Many  of  them  found  their  way  to  the 
Gulf  coast  and  in  fact  were  employed  in  every  part  of 
Louisiana.6 

1  Trans.  III.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  10,  pp.  131-132 ;  Hennepin,  A  New  Dis- 
covery of  a  Vast  Country,  etc.,  vol.  i,  pp.  36-37 ;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol. 
ii,  pp.  49-50. 

2  Doc.  Rel  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  383 ;  Colls.  III.  Hist.  Lib.,  vol.  i, 
pp.  88-89. 

8  Hennepin,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  37. 
*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  50. 

"Chaville,  op.  cit.,  vol.  iv,  p.  137;  Colls.  III.  Hist.  Soc.,  Va.  Ser.,  vol. 
i,  p.  xviii. 

6  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  607;  vol.  v,  p.  357;  Kalm,   Travels  in  North 
America,  vol.  ii,  pp.  299-315;  vol.  iii,  p.  15. 


57]  BOATS  57 

Because  of  the  different  materials  available  for  the  con- 
struction of  boats,  the  Indians  south  of  the  Ohio  gave 
the  French  a  different  model,  a  "  dug-out "  made  from 
the  trunk  of  a  large  cotton-wood  tree.  In  1673  Mar- 
quette  saw  many  such  vessels,  one  Indian  village  alone 
having  two  hundred  and  eighty.1  Scarcely  was  Biloxi 
established  when  the  settlers  began  to  make  boats  similar 
to  those  used  by  the  southern  Indians.  In  1700  they 
finished  twelve,  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet  long.2  Le 
Sueur  no  doubt  used  some  of  these  on  his  voyage  to  the 
Illinois  country,  where  they  proved  to  be  curiosities  to 
the  Illinois  Indians  who  had  seen  only  the  bark  canoes 
and  a  few  Indian  "  dug-outs." 3 

The  French,  however,  did  not  confine  themselves 
wholly  to  the  cotton-wbod,  but  made  "  dug-outs  "  from 
the  trunks  of  several  different  kinds  of  trees,  of  which 
the  cypress  was  the  most  highly  prized.4  Constructed  in 
this  fashion  the  boats  necessarily  varied  in  size,  the  smaller 
ones  being  so  narrow  as  not  to  be  able  to  bear  a  sail. 
In  a  strong  wind  the  water  frequently  dashed  over 
them.5  The  larger-sized  vessels,  however,  were  from 
forty  to  fifty  feet  long  by  three  to  five  feet  wide  and  could 
carry  thirty  men.  In  freight  capacity  they  ranged  from 
one  ton  to  forty-five  or  fifty  tons.  As  a  rule  the  French 
called  such  boats  "pirogues"  and  frequently  also,. 
"  canoes.' 


"6 


1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Iviii,  p.  97. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fol.  307. 

8  Hist.  Colls.  La.  and  Fla.,  vol.  i,  p.  65. 

4  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  320;  vol.  ii,  p.  31;  Charlevoix,  A  Voy- 
age to  N.  Am.,  vol.  ii,  p.  177. 

6  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  381 ;  Charlevoix,  op.  dt.,  vol.  ii,  p.  177- 

•  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  pp.  33-34;  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  419-420; 
Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Iviii,  p.  97;  Dumont,  vol.  i,  p.  64. 


58  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [58 

A  pirogue  had  seats  for  the  rowers  and  for  the  cox- 
swain. Usually  it  was  guided  by  an  oar  attached  to  the 
stern ;  in  other  cases,  a  more  pretentious  rudder,  made 
of  planks  was  used.1  It  was  propelled  by  oars,  aided  by 
a  sail  if  the  wind  were  favorable.2  The  Company  of  the 
Indies  during  its  control  of  the  province  owned  many 
boats  of  this  kind.3  In  1737,  however,  the  royal  govern- 
ment decreased  the  number  by  introducing  into  the  river 
service  a  larger  boat  of  different  construction.4 

By  far  the  most  of  the  pirogues  were  owned  by 
private  persons.  Because  of  their  simple  construction 
they  could  be  easily  built.  When  there  was  a  shortage 
in  the  government  supply,  private  pirogues  made  up 
the  deficiency,  especially  between  New  Orleans  and  the 
Illinois  country  where  they  were  always  more  numerous 
than  any  other  kind  of  boat.5  It  was  not  uncommon 
for  twenty  to  thirty  of  them  to  pass  from  the  Illinois 
to  the  capital  in  a  single  convoy;  usually  the  number 
was  much  smaller.  In  Louisiana,  where  communication 
was  largely  carried  on  by  boat,  the  general  usefulness  of 
the  pirogue  enabled  it  to  maintain  its  popularity  through- 
out the  French  period.6  The  very  simplicity  of  construc- 
tion, however,  gave  almost  no  market  for  such  boats, 
even  if  in  1735  five  of  them  did  sell  for  four  hundred  and 
ten  livres.7 

Another  boat  in   general   service  on  the  Mississippi 

1  Dumont,  vol.  i,  pp.  62-63. 

1  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  177 ;  Raynal,  vol.  v,  p.  252. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Sfr.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  40. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  18-20. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fol.  299;  vol.  xiv,  fol.  48;  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  291-296; 
Str.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  608. 

*  Ibid.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  xv,  fols.  133-136;  vol.  xvi,  fol.  300;  vol.  xxxiv, 
fols.  291-296;  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  419;  vol.  vi,  p.  244. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250-251. 


59l  BOATS  59 

was  the  "  cajeu."  This  was  made  of  strong  canes  bound 
tightly  together  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  a  light  vessel 
useful  in  making  crossings  from  one  bank  of  the  river 
to  the  other.  These  boats  were  so  easily  constructed 
that  they  filled  the  place  in  the  south  that  the  "bull- 
boats  "  did  in  the  north.1  The  boats  used  in  the  Illinois 
country  for  such  crossings  were  pirogues  sawed  length- 
wise into  two  equal  parts  with  a  broad  flat  piece  of  timber 
inserted  in  the  middle  in  order  to  give  greater  beam  to 
the  vessel  so  that  horses  and  cattle  could  be  carried 
across  the  river  with  greater  safety.2 

Neither  the  bark  canoe  nor  the  pirogue  answered  fully 
the  needs  of  the  province ;  hence  variations  from  these 
types  soon  began  to  appear.  As  early  as  1700,  in  fact, 
Iberville  had  proposed  the  construction  of  light  flat  boats 
(bateaux  plats)  on  which  to  carry  large  quantities  of 
buffalo  wool  and  hides  from  the  interior  down  the  Miss- 
issippi to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.3  Eight  years  later  a 
contract  for  a  flat  boat  was  let  to  a  shipwright  and  thir- 
teen inhabitants  of  Mobile.  This  vessel  drew  one  foot  of 
water  empty  and  three  or  four  when  loaded  to  its  full 
capacity  of  about  thirty  tons,  and  was  used  upon  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico4  as  a  "transport-boat."5  In  1709,  the  same 
carpenter  built  a  second  flat  boat  of  about  twelve  tons 
burden  and  intended  for  the  builder's  own  use  in  a  trade 
he  hoped  to  establish  with  Tampico  and  other  Spanish 
towns.6 

1  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  186. 

1  Trans.  III.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  12,  pp.  217-218;  Breese,  The  Early  His- 
tory of  III,  etc.,  App.,  p.  290;  Hall,  Notes  on  the  Western  States,  p.  218. 

*  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  376. 

4  The  French  used  this  term  for  the  boats  carrying  merchandise 
from  sea-going  vessels  to  the  settlements,  and  also  from  Louisiana  to 
the  West  Indies  or  Mexico. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  ii,  fols.  193-211.       •  Ibid.,  fols.  395-4<>3. 


60  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [60 

The  number  ot  such  boats  did  not  increase  rapidly. 
An  inventory  of  the  royal  property  in  Louisiana  in  1718 
shows  only  two  of  fifteen  tons,  three  of  four,  and  one  of 
two  tons  capacity,  the  two  largest  being  in  very  bad  condi- 
tion.1 On  the  arrival  of  the  new  director  of  the  Com- 
pany in  August  of  the  same  year  he  made  a  report  to 
the  home  government  of  the  condition  of  the  province, 
and  in  this  communication  stated  there  were  twenty-four 
or  twenty-five  flat  boats  ready  to  be  used  in  carrying 
settlers  from  the  vessels  that  brought  them  from  France 
to  their  "  concessions "  along  the  Mississippi.  This 
number  does  not  seem  to  have  been  sufficient,  for  in  1719 
Bienville  was  ordered  by  the  Company  to  have  a  num- 
ber of  new  ones  constructed,  and  the  work  was  begun 
soon  after  at  Mobile,  Biloxi  and  New  Orleans.*  When 
the  work  of  transportation  had  slackened,  he  sent  seven 
of  them,  with  crews  of  nine  or  ten  men  each,  from  Biloxi 
by  way  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans 
on  a  voyage  of  inspection.3 

In  1737  the  colonial  officials  considered  it  advisable  to 
increase  the  number  of  flat  boats  and  to  place  them  on 
the  New  Orleans-Illinois  route.  The  contract,  let  to 
the  lowest  bidder,  fell  to  certain  settlers  along  the 
Mississippi.  Fifty  large  vessels,  forty  by  nine  by  four 
feet,  each  of  twelve  tons  burden,  to  be  finished  in  the 
month  of  October,  1738,  were  provided  for.4  A  boat  of 
this  type,  be  it  said,  was  not  a  flatboat  or  "  broad-horn  " 
of  the  later  period  of  Mississippi  boat  traffic,  for  it  had  a 
sharp  bow  and  stern  and  was  of  light  draft  and  narrow 

1A.N.,C.,  Sir.  Cls,  vol.  v,  fol.  182. 

*  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  571 ;  Kalm,  vol.  iii,  p.  15 ;  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Memoires 
et  Documents,  Amerique,  vol.  i,  fol.  107. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vi,  fol.  11. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  18-20. 


6l]  BOATS  6l 

beam.  It  was  made  of  several  pieces  of  timber  with  a 
broad  flat  bottom,  was  larger  than  a  canoe  and  of  greater 
capacity  than  the  large  pirogue.1  Toward  the  end  of  the 
French  period  in  Louisiana,  however,  a  boat  resembling 
a  flatboat  of  the  present  day  began  to  be  used  on  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries.  This  was  called  a 
" radeau"  and  served  principally  as  a  freight  boat  and 
for  heavy  and  bulky  merchandise  in  general.2 

The  French  also  made  use  of  shallops  (chaloupes). 
As  early  as  1704  two  of  these  boats  were  at  Biloxi,  and 
in  1707  were  brought  into  the  transport  service.3  Before 
1722  they  had  been  placed  on  the  lower  Mississippi, 
where  they  were  used  for  different  kinds  of  work.  Most 
of  the  boats  in  that  part  of  Louisiana  were  broken  to 
pieces  by  a  violent  storm  that  visited  the  Gulf  region 
in  August ;  of  the  government  shallops  only  two  re- 
mained.4 The  number,  however,  was  soon  increased, 
and  in  1727  such  boats  were  making  voyages  up  the 
Mississippi  to  New  Orleans  with  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
passengers,5  and  five  years  later  it  was  proposed  that  shal- 
lops tow  ocean  vessels  from  the  Balise  to  New  Orleans.6 
In  1746  a  shallop  of  sixty  tons,  manned  by  a  crew  of  five 
or  six  sailors,  was  owned  and  used  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
by  a  settler  who  had  a  cattle  ranch  on  Deer  Island.7 
Then,  too,  shallops  were  utilized  by  sea-going  vessels  for 

1  Kalm,  vol.  iii,  p.  16;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  61. 
1  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  35. 

8  Beranger,  p.  103;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  468-470;  vol.  ii, 
fols.  5-32. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  340. 

5  Relations  du  Voyage  des  Dames  Religieuses  Ursulines  de  Rouen  a 
la  Nouvelle  Orleans,  p.  32. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  54-56. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  254. 


62  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [62 

all  sorts  of  purposes,  such  as  lifting  anchor  and  doing 
rescue  work  in  time  of  peril.  Shallops,  thus  employed, 
were  of  about  four  tons  capacity  and  varied  in  number 
from  one  to  three  for  each  vessel.1  Even  the  "  brigan- 
tins "  on  the  river  were  sometimes  provided  with  a 
shallop  to  help  raise  the  anchor.2 

Just  what  kind  of  boat  it  was  that  passed  under  the 
name  of  shallop  in  Louisiana  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
As  the  name  "  canoe,"  at  times,  was  applied  to  the 
pirogue,  so  shallop,  in  the  same  way,  became  also  a  term 
used  indifferently  for  all  medium-sized,  and  sometimes 
even  foV  larger,  boats.  In  structure,  it  seems  to  have 
followed  closely  the  flatboat,  differing  from  it  no  doubt 
only  in  some  minor  detail. 

As  early  as  1713  an  overseer  of  shallops  was  suggested 
by  the  "  ordonnateur,"  and  the  next  year  two  such 
officers  were  appointed,  each  of  whom  received  for  his 
services  thirty  livres  a  month.3  Penicaut,  from  whose 
writings  so  much  knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  the 
colony  of  Louisiana  has  been  derived,  was  a  maker  and 
repairer  of  shallops,  a  term  which  in  this  case  was  ap- 
plied to  boats  of  all  kinds,  even  including  the  large 
pirogues  owned  by  the  government.4 

In  an  enumeration  of  boats  used  in  Louisiana  in  1704, 
it  was  stated  "  there  are  three  shallops,  one  of  which  is  a 
'felouque'"  (felucca).5  Here  again  the  term  shallop  is 
employed  in  the  larger  meaning.  This  type  of  boat  had 
been  in  use  in  Louisiana  since  its  foundation,  for  Iberville, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  287-309;  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  p.  119. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  119. 

»  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  262-263 ;  287-309. 

4  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  584;  Kalm,  vol.  iii,  p.  15. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  Cn«,  vol.  i,  fols.  468-470. 


63]  BOATS  63 

in  1700,  speaks  of  sending  his  "  felouque "  into  the 
interior  of  the  country.1  The  "felouque"  was  a  small, 
swift-sailing  ship  propelled  by  both  oars  and  lateen  sails, 
resembling  in  general  the  shallop,  yet  built  in  such  a  way 
that  the  helm  could  be  used  indifferently  at  either  end  of 
the  boat.  The  number  of  these  feluccas  was  increased 
from  time  to  time,  but  they  seem  never  to  have  become 
popular.  For  the  most  part  its  use  was  confined  to  the 
lower  Mississippi  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  it  was 
employed  in  coasting  voyages  and  for  transport  service.2 
The  larger  boats  in  use  in  Louisiana  were  "  bateaux," 
"  brigantins,"  "barques,"  "keel-boats,"  "  traversiers," 
"  caiches,"  and  frigates.  "Bateaux"  and  "  traversiers " 
were  general  terms.  For  example,  any  vessel  making 
frequent  voyages  between  places  not  far  apart  might  be 
called  a  "  traversier,"  regardless  of  its  particular  form. 
In  1704  there  were  two  "traversiers,"  each  of  fifty  tons 
capacity  and  with  complete  armament,  making  voyages 
from  Louisiana  to  Mexico.3  Such  trips  continued  from 
time  to  time  until  one  of  the  "traversiers,"  in  1706,  ran 
too  close  to  the  shore  and  was  wrecked  off  the  coast  not 
far  from  Biloxi.4  In  1722  the  "traversiers"  then  in  the 
province,  when  not  engaged  in  making  journeys  to  the 
West  Indies,  were  employed  as  "  transport-boats " 
(bdtiments  de  transport).  For  this  work,  however,  they 
were  not  well  adapted,  since  they  could  get  no  nearer 
the  shore  than  three-fourths  of  a  league,  thereby  making 
it  necessary  to  transfer  the  merchandise  to  shallops  in 
order  to  land  it.5  The  term  "traversier"  continued  in 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  363-364. 

3  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  88. 

s  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  387-396,  468-470. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  5-32,  57-59.        6  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fols.  288-289. 


64  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [64 

use  throughout  the  French  period,  but  after  the  resump- 
tion of  royal  rule  it  was  employed  much  less  frequently. 

"  Bateau  "  had  a  still  more  general  use.  As  a  name 
it  could  be  applied  to  any  sort  of  small  boat  whether 
propelled  by  sails  or  oars,  or  by  both  sails  and  oars. 
Moreover,  the  term  was  used  quite  as  often  in  reference 
to  boats  on  the  river  as  to  those  on  the  open  sea.  The 
French  wrote  "  brigantin,"  "  barque  "  or  "  bateau  "  more 
or  less  indifferently  in  referring  to  one  and  the  same 
craft.1  The  application  of  the  term  "  bateau,"  further- 
more, may  be  shown  by  an  account  of  the  vessels  in 
lower  Louisiana  that  were  mentioned  as  such. 

In  1709,  for  example,  the  clerk  of  the  province  pro- 
posed to  buy  a  "bateau"  for  the  royal  service.  It  was 
to  be  used  in  making  voyages  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  hence 
was  simply  a  "  traversier."  Before  the  government  had 
closed  the  bargain,  however,  Bienville  and  d'Artaguette 
bought  it  for  fifteen  hundred  livres  and  put  it  on  this 
service  as  a  private  enterprise.  By  1713  two  trips  to 
Vera  Cruz  are  recorded  for  it.8  In  1711  a  "bateau"  of 
fifty  tons  was  bought  by  the  authorities  for  two  thousands 
livres.  This  vessel  was  intended  for  a  similar  service  be- 
tween the  West  Indies  and  the  colony.3  In  1712  a  "ba- 
teau "  of  thirty-five  tons  owned  by  a  settler  on  Dauphin 
Island  was  brought  from  France.  It  had  been  necessary 
for  the  owner  to  secure  a  permit  for  himself,  his  Cana- 
dian companions  and  the  boat  itself,  because  an  exclusive 
trading  privilege  had  just  been  granted  to  Crozat,  and 
the  crown  wished  to  protect  that  privilege.4  A  "  bateau  " 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  ii,  fols.  57-69;  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248;  A., 
B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fols.  81-129. 

*  A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  66;  vol.  v,  fols.  257-259. 
3  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  586-602. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  127,  131. 


65]  BOATS  65 

in  a  colony  where  a  boat  of  fifty  tons  cost  more  than  one 
of  two  hundred  in  Europe,  it  was  felt,  would  be  an  ad- 
vantage rather  than  a  hindrance  to  Crozat.1  In  1717  a 
"  bateau, "  "  La  Catherine,"  was  bought  by  the  govern- 
ment for  two  thousand  livres  for  service  in  Louisiana.2 
There  were  already  at  Mobile  a  "  bateau "  of  between 
sixty  and  seventy  tons,  and  another  of  from  twenty-five 
to  forty,  and  still  others  elsewhere,  all  of  them  badly  in 
need  of  repairs.3 

For  some  time  before  the  Company  surrendered  its 
right  to  the  crown  it  had  neither  increased  nor  repaired 
the  "bateaux"  of  Louisiana.  Consequently  the  royal 
government  found  it  necessary  almost  immediately  to  ap- 
propriate ten  thousand  livres  for  the  construction  of 
new,  and  the  repair  of  old,  vessels  of  the  sort  in  the 
province.4  This  need  for  boats  was  enhanced,  moreover, 
by  the  storm  that  destroyed  many  ships  in  lower  Lou- 
isiana.5 Among  those  lost  was  one  wrecked  off  Horn 
Island  while  en  route  from  New  Orleans  to  Mobile  by 
way  of  the  Balise.  After  the  storm  there  was  but  one 
royal  "bateau"  fit  for  service.6  Salmon,  the  "  ordonna- 
teur,"  attempted  to  buy  others  in  the  West  Indies  to 
take  the  place  of  those  lost,  but  was  not  successful. 
An  Englishman  came  to  Mobile  about  the  same  time 
and  offered  to  sell  a  "  bateau "  of  one  hundred  tons ; 
a  society  organized  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
trade  with  the  West  Indies  agreed  to  take  it,  but  the 
owner  did  not  return  with  the  vessel  to  complete  his  share 
of  the  bargain.7  This  same  year  the  provincial  government 

.1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fol.  &>5- 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  70. 
J  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fols.  107-108. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiii,  fols.  268-270;  vol.  xv,  fols.  54-56. 

5  Supra. 

« Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  53-54-  '  Ibid->  vo1-  xvi»  fo1-  83- 


66  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [66 

bought  at  Vera  Cruz  a  "  bateau  "  of  between  sixty  and 
seventy  tons,  which  was  called  "  L'Aigle  Noir"  and  was 
to  be  a  "  traversier "  along  with  an  old  "  brigantin," 
the  "St.  Louis".1 

Scarcely  had  the  crown  provided  "  bateaux  "  for  offi- 
cial service  in  Louisiana  when  it  was  discovered  that 
they  were  used  more  for  the  private  trade  of  the  govern- 
ment staff  than  for  public  purposes.  To  put  an  end  to 
this  abuse,  Salmon  issued  an  ordinance  making  it  illegal 
for  any  official  to  convert  such  boats  to  private  uses.2 
There  were,  however,  not  enough  "bateaux"  in  the 
province,  even  though  employed  exclusively  for  official 
objects.  A  recommendation,  therefore,  was  sent  to  the 
home  government,  in  1735,  requesting  it  to  have  the  need- 
ful boats  constructed,  each  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  tons  capacity,  for  the  service  in  Louisiana.3  The 
request  being  ignored,  the  colonists  themselves  made  some 
attempts  at  increasing  the  number.  In  1737  a  "bateau  " 
of  fifty  tons,  "  La  Marie  Elisabeth,"  from  Bordeaux,  was 
condemned  by  the  colonial  officials  as  unseaworthy.  A 
settler  bought  it  and  with  the  aid  of  a  ship  carpenter  made 
it  again  ready  for  use  and  at  once  freighted  it  for  Mar- 
tinique. This  gain,  however,  was  offset  by  the  loss  the 
same  year  of  a  "  bateau  "  of  sixty  tons,  "  La  Marguerite," 
which  was  wrecked  off  Horn  Island,  on  its  return  voyage 
from  Cape  Frangais  (Cape  Haitien).  This  vessel,  too,  was 
owned  by  a  colonist  and,  when  wrecked,  was  returning  to 
Louisiana  from  its  second  journey  that  year  to  the  West 
Indies.4 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  S&r.  C1*,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  122-124;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  167-169. 

2  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  October  18,  1734. 
:l  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xx,  fols.  S7-6o. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  173-175,  182. 


67]  BOATS  6j7 

In  1740  a  storm  again  passed  over  lower  Louisiana 
causing  great  loss  in  boats  of  all  kinds.  A  large  "  ba- 
teau "  with  its  captain  and  four  of  the  best  negro  sailors 
in  the  colony  foundered  while  on  its  way  from  Mobile 
to  New  Orleans.1  In  order  to  have  new  ships  built  in 
place  of  the  old  ones  lost,  the  crown  the  next  year  sent 
to  Louisiana  a  ship  carpenter.  The  deplorable  state  of 
the  French  finances,  however,  prevented  the  grant  of 
further  aid.2  In  1749  the  home  government  was  again 
asked  to  increase  the  number  of  Louisiana  "  bateaux," 
especially  for  the  New  Orleans-Mobile  lake  and  river 
route  where  the  need  was  the  greatest.  Here  there  was 
but  one  boat  of  the  kind  and  that  was  quite  unfit  for 
service.3 

On  the  Mississippi  between  New  Orleans  and  the  Illi- 
nois country,  the  term  "  bateau "  was  used  as  early  as 
1717.  In  that  year  two  small  vessels  of  the  sort  were 
sent  from  France  on  the  ship,  "  La  Dauphine,"  and  des- 
tined for  service  on  the  Mississippi.  Others  were  soon 
added,  but  the  supply  seems  never  to  have  equaled  the 
demand.4  A  "  bateau "  of  sixteen  tons,  built  at  New 
Orleans  for  voyages  between  the  capital  and  the  Illinois 
country,  was  finished  in  1733.  When  about  ready  to 
begin  its  maiden  trip  and  while  still  at  anchor,  it  was 
struck  and  badly  damaged  by  a  tree  floating  swiftly 
down  stream.  Repairs  were  at  once  begun  and  the 
boat  started  up  the  Mississippi  early  in  1734.*  There 
was  need  for  more  such  "bateaux"  on  this  course, 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C1*,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  127-130. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxii,  fol.  9. 

*  Ibid.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  118-119. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  fol.  99;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  244. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  SSr.  O3,  vol.  xix,  fols.  8-10. 


68  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [68 

yet  the  home  government  did  nothing  in  the  matter 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Chickasaw  War,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  increase  the  number  immediately.  At  the 
request  of  Bienville,  in  1737,  the  "  ordonnateur "  placed 
a  contract  for  the  construction  of  fifty  "  bateaux,"  forty 
by  nine  feet,  which  were  to  cost  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  livres  each.  The  caulking,  iron- work,  rig- 
ging, gearing  etc.,  brought  the  price  up  to  three  thousand 
four  hundred  and  forty  livres.  The  boats  were  to  be 
finished  by  March,  I738.1  The  "bateaux"  for  the  New 
Orleans-Illinois  service  were  put  in  repair  in  1746'  and 
again  in  1748,  before  they  were  allowed  to  leave  the 
town.3 

The  "bateau"  was  used,  also,  on  other  rivers  of  the 
province.  In  1739  boats  of  the  kind  were  passing  from 
Mobile  up  the  river  to  Fort  Toulouse,  Fort  Tombecbee, 
and  to  New  Orleans.4  Three  years  later  Dubreuil, 
"  entrepreneur  of  public  works,"  launched  a  "  bateau  "  of 
forty  tons  to  be  used  carrying  stone  down  the  Mobile 
from  a  quarry  five  leagues  above.5  The  number  of  voy- 
ages between  New  Orleans  and  the  other  parts  of  the 
province,  furthermore,  was  greatly  increased  by  additions 
to  the  military  forces,  compelling  the  "  ordonnateur,"  in 
1752,  to  enlarge  correspondingly  the  number  of  boats  on 
the  river  service.  Six  thousand  livres,  accordingly,  was 
appropriated  for  the  construction  of  new  and  the  repair- 
ing of  old  "  bateaux." 6 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  Cla,  vol.  xx,  fols.  176-179. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  23. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  196-197. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  100-102;  vol.  xxii,  fols.  46-50. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvii,  fol.  134. 
«  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  285. 


69]  BOATS  69 

The  final  war  between  the  French  and  English  led  to 
the  employment  of  "  bateaux"  on  the  Ohio  and  Wabash 
rivers.  Convoys  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  such  boats  made 
annual  trips  from  the  Illinois  country  up  the  Ohio  to 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  also  up  the  Wabash  with  supplies 
for  the  troops  in  New  France.1 

1  KerUre^s  Report,  1758,  p.  70;  Pittman,  p.  36;  Trans.  III.  Hist.  Soc., 
No.  ii,  pp.  222-223;  No.  8,  p.  in;  North  American  Review,  vol.  xlix, 
p.  77- 


CHAPTER  V 
BOATS  (CONTINUED) 

PASSING  now  to  a  consideration  of  certain  specific  types 
of  vessels,  it  may  be  said  that  a  "  barque  "  was  a  boat  too 
small  to  be  rigged  with  the  same  kind  of  sails  and  in  the 
same  way  as  those  used  on  a  "  brigantin  ".  As  early  as  1704 
a  "  barque  "  of  fifty  tons  was  built  and  launched  in  Louis- 
iana, the  sails  having  been  brought  from  France.1  In  1707, 
one  such  boat  was  all  that  was  needed  for  the  service  of 
the  colony  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.2  By  1713  "barques" 
were  in  use  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Here  they  were  sup- 
plied with  oars  as  well  as  with  masts  and  sails.  Ranging  in 
capacity  from  forty-five  to  fifty  tons,  they  were  used  as 
freighters.3  In  1751,  six  boats  of  the  sort  left  New  Or- 
leans for  the  Illinois  country  with  four  companies  of 
troops  (400  men)  and  large  supplies  of  merchandise.4 

The  term  "  brigantin  "  was  first  applied  in  1707  to  a 
Louisiana  boat  of  about  fifty  tons  burden.5  By  1713,  an- 
other of  from  sixty  to  seventy  tons  had  been  added.  It 
was  small  enough  to  pass  some  distance  above  Fort  St. 
Louis  de  la  Mobile,  and  yet  large  enough  to  make  sea  voy- 
ages to  Tampico,  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz  for  cargoes  of 
domestic  animals  and  flour,  and  required  only  twelve  men 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  i,  fols.  468-470. 
1  Ibid,,  vol.  ii,  fols.  57-69. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  200-310. 

4  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  33. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  ii,  fols.  5-32. 

70  [70 


71]  BOATS  ?l 

to  man  it.1  The  next  year  a  "  brigantin  "  was  sent  from 
Mobile  up  the  Mississippi  after  supplies  of  corn  for  the 
garrison.  Not  being  able  to  secure  the  quantity  needed, 
the  vessel  was  later  despatched  to  Vera  Cruz  to  buy  flour, 
a  voyage  which  under  favorable  conditions  required  two 
months.2  In  1717  the  "brigantin",  "  Le  Neptune",  was 
sent  from  France  with  supplies  for  the  province  and  di- 
rected to  remain  permanently  in  Louisiana.  It  was  even 
intended  for  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  the 
Illinois  country;  but  a  voyage  of  the  sort  seems  never  to 
have  been  accomplished.3 

An  inventory  taken  in  1718  of  the  vessels  in  Louisiana 
shows  several  "  brigantins ".  There  was  one  of  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  tons  at  Mobile,  another  at  Biloxi  of 
from  thirty  to  thirty-five  tons,  and  "  Le  Pinere  ",  between 
New  and  Old  Biloxi.  Though  stranded  and  badly  worm- 
eaten,  all  of  them  were  capable  of  being  repaired  and  put 
afloat  ready  for  further  service,  except  the  one  at  Biloxi. 
Besides  these  there  were  at  New  Orleans  two  "  brigan- 
tins "  of  fifteen  and  eighteen  tons,  respectively,  and  a  large 
one  of  fifty  tons  which  was  in  a  state  of  decay.4  Of  these 
boats  only  one  seems  to  have  born  an  individual  name. 

Before  1731  the  Company  of  the  Indies  had  begun  in 
Louisiana  the  construction  of  a  "  brigantin  ",  forty-five  by 
nineteen  by  nine  feet,  and  of  seventy-six  tons  capacity. 
The  Company,  however,  never  completed  the  boat,  which 
was  taken  over  by  the  crown  and  launched  in  December, 
1733,  under  the  name  "  La  Louisiane  ".8  At  this  time  the 
"  brigantin  "  "  St.  Louis  ",  was  in  use  at  New  Orleans  but 
was  very  old  and  almost  unfit  for  sea  voyages  and  later  in 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  126-140,  186,  245-248. 

1  Ibid.,  fols.  Sii-533,  561-606.  *  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  596. 

4  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  I,  fols.  81-129. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  Cls,  vol.  xv,  fol.  19;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  100-101 ;  vol.  xix, 
fols.  8-10. 


72  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [72 

the  year  was  lost  while  returning  from  a  voyage  to  Mobile 
by  way  of  the  Mississippi.1  Another  "  brigantin "  plied 
on  the  river  and  lake  route  between  New  Orleans  and 
Mobile.  By  1749  this  boat  had  grown  too  old  for  effective 
work,  and  the  crown  was  asked  to  put  in  its  place  a  new 
vessel  of  from  eighty  to  ninety  tons  burden  and  not  draw- 
ing above  nine  feet  of  water  when  loaded  to  its  full  capa- 
city. It  was  desired  to  have  the  boat  fitted  up  with  masts 
and  sails  and  provided  with  an  extra  set  of  sails,  ropes, 
cables  and  anchors,  as  well  as  a  shallop  for  raising  the 
anchor,  and  armed  with  eight  cannon.2 

Few  "  caiches  "  (ketches)  and  frigates  were  ever  in  use 
in  Louisiana.  Of  the  former,  one  was  brought  from  France 
in  1718  and  used  in  the  transport  service  at  Biloxi.31  About 
this  time  also  there  was  at  New  Orleans  a  frigate  of  150 
tons  burden  and  carrying  sixteen  cannon.  Although  ves- 
sels of  this  sort  were  intended  primarily  for  warlike  pur- 
poses, they  were,  at  times,  used  to  carry  both  freight  and 
passengers.  The  arrangement  of  the  sails  and  the  employ- 
ment of  the  cannon  were  the  features  differentiating  such 
ships  from  the  others  in  service.* 

About  1742  the  "keel-boat"  began  to  be  used  on  the 
Mississippi.  This  was  a  smaller  vessel  than  the  "  bateau  " 
and  of  lighter  construction.  It  was  usually  from  sixty  to 
seventy  feet  long,  with  a  breadth  of  beam  of  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  feet.  The  keel  extended  from  bow  to  stern 
and  the  boat  drew,  usually,  only  from  twenty  to  thirty 
inches  of  water.  Most  of  the  boats  of  this  kind  were  of 
English  construction  and  in  the  English  service.5 

1A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  38;  vol.  xv,  fols.  55-56;  vol.  xix, 
fols.  8-10. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  118-119.      *  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  87. 

« Ibid.,  fol.  107;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixix,  fols.  106-107. 

'  Hall,  pp.  218-219;  Kalm,  vol.  iii,  p.  15;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol. 
xxvi,  pp.  60-61. 


73]  BOATS  73 

In  1723  it  was  proposed  to  put  on  the  New  Orleans-Illi- 
nois route  a  "  galere  "  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  tons  burden 
and  a  smaller,  or  "  demi-galere  ".  It  was  claimed  that  the 
"  galere  "  would  be  a  decided  improvement  over  the  flat 
boat  (bateau  plat)  and  pirogue  in  use  on  the  Mississippi. 
On  these  craft  the  cargo,  when  not  under  cover,  was  often 
badly  damaged  by  heavy  rains,  whereas  on  the  "  galere  " 
there  were  decks  below  which  the  merchandise  could  be 
stored  and  kept  dry.  An  appeal  was  made  to  the  home 
government  for  carpenters  for  the  work;  but  it  was  un- 
heeded, and  the  ships  were  not  built.1 

Notwithstanding  the  many  different  kinds  of  boats  in 
use  on  the  rivers  of  Louisiana,  there  was  no  great  variety 
in  the  way  they  were  propelled.  From  the  largest  to  the 
smallest,  all  were  rowed  both  up  and  down  stream.  Sails, 
to  be  sure,  were  used  whenever  it  was  possible,  yet  that  sort 
of  motor  power  could  never,  on  a  river  voyage,  be  de- 
pended upon.2  During  times  of  low  water  resort  was  made 
to  "  punting  ".  On  either  side  of  the  vessel  a  boatman  at 
the  bow  thrust  a  pole  into  the  water  till  it  struck  bottom. 
With  the  poles,  in  this  position,  the  men  pushed  upon  them, 
at  the  same  time  walking  toward  the  stern,  and  in  this  way 
the  boat  was  moved  forward.  When  the  stern  was  reached 
the  poles  were  pulled  out  of  the  water,  carried  to  the  bow, 
again  planted  and  the  process  was  repeated.3 

After  1750,  "cordelling"  or  towing  was  employed.  In 
order  to  keep  the  cable  from  catching  on  the  bushes  along 
the  shore,  it  was  passed  through  a  hole  in  the  top  of  a  high 
mast  placed  a  little  forward  of  the  centre  of  the  boat,  and 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  vii,  fol.  40. 

1  Pittman,  pp.  36-37 ;  Raynal,  vol.  v,  p.  253 ;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  33. 

1  Hall,  p.  221 ;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvi,  pp.  60-61 ;   Moses, 
Illinois,  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  105. 


74  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [74 

the  end  of  the  line  fastened  to  the  bow.  The  boat  was  then 
pulled  forward  by  from  twenty  to  thirty  men  strung  along 
on  the  shore.  Sometimes  the  shore  end  of  the  cable  was 
attached  to  a  tree  and  the  men  on  board  the  boat  did  the 
pulling.1  Another  sort  of  towing  was  in  use  on  the  lower 
Mississippi,  where  vessels  were  pulled  from  the  Balise  to 
New  Orleans  by  shallops.2 

The  number  of  men  composing  the  crew  on  the  different 
kinds  of  river  boats  varied  greatly,  even  on  those  of  the 
same  construction  and  size.  It  frequently  happened  that 
there  were  not  enough  sailors  in  the  entire  province  to 
man  them  adequately.  Many  were  manned  by  owners  of 
both  boat  and  cargo.3  In  1713  a  "  barque  "  of  from  forty- 
five  to  fifty  tons  required  a  crew  of  twenty  men  for  a  voy- 
age up  the  Mississippi.4  At  Mobile,  in  1733,  there  were 
twelve  negroes  who  were  sailors  on  the  "  bateau  "  that 
passed  from  that  place  up  the  river  to  Fort  Toulouse,  Fort 
Tombecbee,  and  to  New  Orleans.  Though  efficient  sailors, 
their  number  was  far  too  small;  hence  the  colonial  officials 
requested  the  home  government  to  increase  the  supply.5 
The  shortage  continuing,  in  1751  a  further  request  was 
made  for  more  sailors  for  the  New  Orleans-Illinois  route. 
The  negroes  belonging  to  the  government  had  grown  old. 
There  had  never  been  more  than  one  negro  for  each 
"  bateau  ",  consequently,  since  about  twenty-four  men  were 
needed,  it  usually  fell  to  the  soldiers  to  do  the  rowing. 

1  Hall,  pp.  218.  221 ;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvi,  pp.  60-61 ; 
Moses,  vol.  i,  p.  105. 

2  A.  N.f  C.,  Ser.  P*,  vol.  xv,  fols.  54-56. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xci,  fol.  8 ;  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  357 ;  vol.  vi,  pp.  358- 
359,  435- 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  SSr.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  158-160. 


75]  BOATS  75 

Besides  their  pay  as  such,  they  received  a  small  "  gratifica- 
tion "  varying  in  amount  with  the  length  of  the  voyage.1 
Each  "  bateau  ",  for  the  most  part,  was  provided  with  a 
captain,  yet  it  was  not  uncommon  for  a  number  of  boats 
to  be  sent  out  under  the  command  of  a  single  officer.2 

The  pay  of  the  sailors  on  the  river  boats  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine. Le  Sueur  paid  some  Canadian  "  vagabonds  "  500 
livres  (French  money)  for  a  year's  labor.  This,  however, 
included  work  as  hunters  as  well  as  boatmen.*  In  1714 
sailors  were  receiving  twenty-four  livres  a  month.4  On  a 
boat  of  twenty-five  tons,  the  construction  of  which  was  pro- 
posed in  1725,  the  captain  was  to  receive  forty  livres  a 
month,  for  a  period  of  six  months,  and  the  sailors  twenty.5 
This  amount  may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  average. 

The  time  necessary  for  a  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to 
the  Illinois  country  varied  from  three  to  four  months, 
whereas  the  return  trip  could  be  made  in  from  twelve  to 
twenty-five  days.6  A  voyage  from  the  Illinois  to  Fort  Du 
Quesne  required  three  months  going  up,  and  twelve  days 
down  stream.7  Boats  proceeding  from  New  Orleans  to 
Mobile  by  the  lake  route  took  four  days,8  while  those  going 
by  way  of  the  Mississippi,  with  favorable  winds,  could  ar- 
rive at  the  Balise  in  about  the  same  time.  The  sharp  bend 
in  the  river  made  it  necessary  for  the  vessels  to  wait  for  a 

*-A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  8-12. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fol.  n ;  vol.  viii,  fols.  451-461 ;  Pittman,  p.  36. 
8  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  68-69. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  Cia,  vol.  iii,  fols.  287-309. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  fols.  451-461. 

•  Ibid.;  Pittman,  p.  36. 

1  KerUrec's  Report,  1758,  p.  70 ;  The  Present  State  of  the  Country 
etc.,  1744,  p.  31. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O',  vol.  vii,  fol.  31. 


76  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [76 

change  of  wind,  a  circumstance,  as  above  observed,1  that 
might  prolong  the  voyage  to  New  Orleans  anywhere  from 
a  day  to  a  month.2  The  canoes  usually  went  at  the  rate  of 
four  miles  an  hour  down  stream ;  but  from  daybreak  to  dusk, 
if  provided  with  a  sail  and  having  a  favorable  wind,  they 
were  able  to  make  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  leagues,  and 
on  lakes  sometimes  more.3  The  larger  boats  with  say  ap- 
proximately twenty  men  could  go  about  six  or  seven  leagues 
a  day  up  stream.4  The  rate  of  progress,  however,  was  in 
direct  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  crew. 

It  seems  fitting  to  conclude  this  description  of  the  boats 
of  Louisiana  with  some  account  of  the  vessels  plying  be- 
tween the  province  and  France.  During  the  period  up  to 
1763  more  than  one  hundred  different  ships  were  engaged. 
Some  of  them  made  a  few  voyages  to  Louisiana  and  were 
then  transferred  to  the  service  of  other  French  colonies. 
The  voyages  of  a  considerable  number  extended  over  many 
years,  in  a  few  cases  as  long  as  thirty.  These  vessels,  how- 
ever, rarely  came  year  after  year,  and  in  only  one  case  did 
the  same  ship  undertake  two  voyages  in  a  single  year.6 
The  number  of  French  vessels  sent  to  Louisiana,  the  ir- 
regularity of  their  visits  and  the  colony's  commercial  his- 
tory in  this  respect  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  dia- 
gram: 

1  Supra,  p.  54. 

ZA.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  vii,  fols.  33-34;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii, 
P-  259- 

1  Jes,  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  91 ;  Raynal,  vol.  v,  p.  253 ;  Hennepin,  A  New 
Discovery,  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  37;  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  4,  p.  7. 

*  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixvii,  pp.  287,  295,  297 ;  Pittman,  p.  36. 

5  These  conclusions  are  based  on  a  rough  list  compiled  of  all  the 
vessels  mentioned  in  contemporary  sources.  The  references  are  too 
numerous  for  citation. 


77] 


BOATS 


77 


The  curve  from  1699  to  1712  tells  of  the  time  of  famine, 
and  from  1712  to  1717  of  Crozat's  erratic  management  of 
the  province.  Then  followed  the  period  when  Louisiana 
was  under  the  rule  of  the  Companies  which  sent  out  many 
vessels  with  settlers  and  merchandise.  On  resuming  con- 
trol of  the  colony  in  1731,  the  crown  was  unable  to  despatch 
a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  and  hence  endeavored  to  at- 
tract merchants  to  the  colonial  trade  by  offering  them  "gra- 
tifications ",  or  bounties,  on  the  shipment  of  certain  classes 
of  merchandise,  amounting  for  a  while  to  as  much  as  forty 
livres  a  ton,  but  eventually  reduced  to  twenty.1  The  curve 
gives  some  indication  of  the  success  of  the  effort.  From 
1744  to  about  1752  a  change  of  conditions  in  the  French 
West  Indies  sent  many  merchant  vessels  to  Louisiana.2 
From  1754  to  the  end  of  the  French  regime  the  curve  indi- 
cates great  irregularity,  due  to  the  misfortunes  of  war  and 
to  English  interference. 

The  French  vessels  coming  to  Louisiana  sailed  from  the 
ports  of  La  Rochelle,3  Rochefort,4  Bordeaux,0  St.  Malo,8 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fol.  629;  vol.  Ixii,  fol.  235- 

1  A.,  B,  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fols.  145-146. 

»  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  36. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  fols.  514-569. 

s  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  38-39;  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  361. 

'  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  256. 


78  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [78 

Marseilles,1  Nantes,2  Havre,3  Bayonne,*  and  Dunkerque.5 
The  greater  number  of  those  despatched  by  the  crown 
sailed  from  Rochefort,  and  by  merchants,  from  La  Rochelle 
and  Bordeaux.  In  the  two  ports  last  named  there  were 
cases  where  the  same  merchant  kept  vessels  in  the  Louis- 
iana service  from  the  third  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century 
onward  until  the  final  war  with  England  made  trade  with 
the  province  impossible. 

The  ships  at  first  were  quite  small,  ranging  from  thirty- 
five  to  sixty  tons  burden.  None  seems  to  have  reached  one 
hundred  tons  or  more  before  the  time  of  the  Company  of 
the  Indies,  when  the  boats  were  anywhere  from  no  to 
500  tons  capacity.  Those  sent  out  by  the  crown  and  by 
merchants  for  several  years  after  1731  were  for  the  most 
part  of  small  tonnage.  Not  until  1736  is  there  a  record  of 
a  vessel  of  as  much  as  250  tons.  Some  were  as  small  as 
fifty 6  or  sixty 7  tons,  whereas  the  majority  were  be- 
tween 100  and  200.  After  1736  the  size  of  the  vessels  was 
considerably  increased.  Many  of  them  were  between  400 
and  500  tons,  and  a  few  reached  700  tons.8  The  smaller 
ones,  however,  still  held  their  own  and  in  1759  a  boat  of 
fifty  tons  started  on  a  voyage  to  Louisiana,  but  was  seized 
by  the  British  three  weeks  after  it  left  Havre.9 

These  French  ships  engaged  in  the  Louisiana  service 
were  not  essentially  different  from  those  despatched  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  359. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  16 ;  vol.  xxiv,  f ols.  254-256. 

3  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11334,  fol.  171. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  297. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xcviii,  fol.  06. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixii,  fol.  91. 

7  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixi,  fols.  647-648. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xl,  fols.  62-63. 

9  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11334,  fols.  186-187. 


79]  BOATS  79 

other  French  colonies.  Nor  were  they  smaller  than  boats 
similarly  employed  by  other  nations.  In  fact  the  French 
vessels  of  the  time  were  usually  larger  than  those  of  other 
countries.  None  of  the  Spanish  or  English  vessels,  for 
example,  resorting  to  Louisiana,  was  above  fifty  or  sixty 
tons.1 

The  vessels  were  known  by  the  various  designations  of 
frigate,2  "  paquetbot  ",3  "  brigantin  ",4  "flute",5  "  cour- 
rier"  or  "  dogre  ",8  "  galere  ",7  "  navire  ",8  "  gabare '7 
"  goelette  ",10  "  parlementaire  ",11  and  "  balandre  "  or  "  be- 
landre  ".12  Like  the  names  applied  to  the  colonial  boats, 
some  are  general  terms;  others  refer  to  boats  of  a  special 
construction.  Regardless  of  name,  each  of  the  ships  was 
some  sort  of  sailing  craft,  and  most  of  them  were  merchant 
vessels  carrying  both  freight  and  passengers.  As  a  rule 
the  frigate  was  a  warship,  yet  it  also  at  times  was  used  to 
carry  both  freight  and  passengers.13 

The  passengers  were  divided  into  different  classes :  those 
"  a  la  table  du  capitaine  ",  "  a  1'office  du  capitaine  "  "  ration 
munitionnaire  ",  "  ration  simple  ",  and  those  who  provided 

1  A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  B,  vol.  xlv,  fols.  232-233 ;  Sloane  Coll.,  vol.  32854, 
fol.  252,  British  Museum  Lib. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O",  vol.  iii,  fols.  791-792. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fol.  544. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  186. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xlix,  fol.  119. 

«  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fols.  31;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11335,  fol.  151. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C"13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  40;  vol.  xi,  fol.  31. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fol.  54. 

9  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  28. 

10  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  74. 

11  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  20-22. 

12  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fol.  40 ;  La  Harpe,  p.  104. 
19  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  lix,  fols.  106-107. 


go  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [go 

their  own  food.  The  "  ration  simple "  was  one  ration, 
while  that  of  "  ration  munitionnaire  "  was  one  and  a  half 
a  day,  per  person.1  In  1731  it  cost  the  crown  sixty  livres, 
each,  plus  the  price  of  their  food,  to  send  soldiers  to  Louis- 
iana.2 Two  years  later  the  price  of  a  passage  at  the  cap- 
tain's table  was  150  livres,  while  at  "  ration  munitionnaire  " 
the  fare  was  only  eighty  livres.3  In  1739  the  passage  of 
individuals  sent  out  by  the  crown  on  merchant  ships 
amounted  to  400  livres  each.  This  was  an  exorbitant 
charge,  however,  one  of  many  of  the  sort  in  cases  where  the 
government  paid  the  bill.4  By  1756  the  price  of  a  single 
passage  to  Louisiana  without  food  had  arisen  to  158  livres, 
while  at  the  captain's  table  the  price  was  5OO.5  In  1761  it 
cost  the  crown  a  little  more  than  172  livres  for  each  pas- 
senger it  sent  to  the  province.6 

Many  of  the  vessels  came  singly  from  France  to  Louis- 
iana, but  as  a  rule  two  or  three  of  the  ships  made  the  jour- 
ney across  the  sea  together.  During  war  times  France  sent 
vessels  out  in  convoys  at  certain  fixed  periods,  in  order  to 
give  the  combined  number  sufficient  protection  against 
seizure  and  to  enable  it  the  more  easily  and  quickly  to  as- 
certain its  losses  at  sea.7 

The  vessels  were  supplied  with  a  captain,  under-oificers 
and  a  crew.  Sometimes  the  captain  and  owner  were  one 
and  the  same  person,  who  sold  the  cargo  and  bought  an- 
other for  the  return  voyage.8  The  ships  had  their  own 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxii,  fol.  330;  vol.  Ixxv,  fol.  379;  Ser.  C13, 
vol.  xvi,  fols.  38-39;  vol.  xxx,  fols.  67-70. 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Iv,  fol.  148. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  Iviii,  fol.  14 ;  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  33-39. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  136-138. 

8  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11336,  fols.  106,  171.  '  Ibid.,  fols.  193-194. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xl,  fols.  62-63. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ix,  fol.  106. 


8l]  BOATS  8l 

pilots.  Where  there  was  more  than  one,  the  first  received 
fifty  livres  a  month  and  the  second  forty.1  There  were 
also  special  pilots  kept  by  the  crown  at  the  Balise.2  A  pilot 
of  this  sort  received  from  the  captain  of  the  ship  ten  livres 
a  hundred  tons  to  bring  the  vessel  in  and  take  it  out.8  Three 
years  later,  owing  to  a  scarcity  at  the  Balise,  the  crown  was 
asked  to  send  out  two  smart  young  men  as  pilots  for  the 
post.  An  officer  on  one  of  the  royal  ships  was  found  to 
answer  the  qualifications,  and  he  was  secured  at  800 
livres  a  year.  Later  another  pilot  who  had  been  commander 
of  a  "  bateau  "  on  the  coast  of  St.  Domingue,  was  ob- 
tained for  600  livres.4 

The  number  of  the  crew  varied  necessarily  with  the  size 
of  the  boat  and  the  nature  of  the  cargo.  The  "  flute  ",  for 
example,  carried  a  crew  of  from  120  to  140  men  and  a  food 
supply  sufficient  for  seven  or  eight  months.8 

Regarding  the  time  required  for  a  voyage  from  France 
to  Louisiana,  forty-six  days  was  considered  a  quick  trip 
to  Cape  Francois  e  and  another  forty-six  days  to  reach  New 
Orleans.7  It  was  not  uncommon,  however,  for  a  passage 
to  take  three  to  four  months.8  When  in  Louisiana  the 
vessels  remained  for  a  length  of  time  varying  anywhere 
from  a  few  weeks  to  a  year  or  more. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C",  vol.  iii,  fols.  287-309. 

2  Supra,  p.  27. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  142-143. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  57-6o. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xlix,  fol.  119. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xiii,  fols.  104-105,  204. 

T  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  fol.  847. 

8  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  84. 


CHAPTER  VI 
HIGHWAYS 

WHEN  the  French  entered  the  Mississippi  valley  they 
found  two  sorts  of  highways  fairly  well  marked  out.  One 
was  the  great  migratory  and  local  routes  of  the  buffalo,  the 
other  the  Indian  trails.  When  these  highways  were  called 
into  existence  by  different  causes  the  former  were  distinct 
from  the  latter,  but  when  created  by  a  desire  to  satisfy 
similar  needs  they  were  sometimes,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
identical.1  For  example,  the  buffaloes  and  Indians  entered 
the  Mississippi  valley  through  Cumberland  Gap  and  con- 
tinued for  some  distance  into  the  interior  over  the  same  road. 
The  highway  then  divided,  the  Indian  trail  leading  on  to 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  buffalo  path  to  Otter  Creek, 
past  the  place  where  later  Booneborough  was  located.3 
In  places  where  the  paths  were  in  no  way  connected  they 
were  at  times  indifferently  used  by  both  the  Indians  and 
buffaloes.  In  1750,  when  passing  over  an  Indian  thorough- 
fare, a  traveler  writes,  "  we  met  so  impudent  a  Bull  Buf- 
falo that  we  were  obliged  to  shoot  him  or  he  would  have 
been  among  us  ".3 

The  buffalo  paths  were  the  routes  the  animals  took  in 

1  Filson  Club  Publications,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  44-51 ;  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p. 
US- 

2  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  ii,  map ;  vol.  xiii.  pp.  47,  50 ;  Hulbert,  His- 
toric Highways  of  America,  vol.  i,  p.  113;  Boone's  Autobiography,  in 
Hartley,  Life  of  Daniel  Boone,  App. 

3  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  xiii,  p.  70. 

82  [82 


83]  HIGHWAYS  g3 

going  from  one  to  another  of  the  great  prairies,  or  in  going 
from  the  pastures  to  the  drinking  places  or  salt-licks.  Year 
after  year  the  herds  passed  over  the  same  path,  which  was 
always  an  astonishingly  direct  line  between  the  two  places. 
En  route  they  followed  one  another  mile  after  mile  and  at 
night  lay  down  close  together  to  rest.  As  would  be  ex- 
pected, the  paths  were  worn  deep,  and  the  earth  was  packed 
so  hard  that  no  vegetation  ever  grew  upon  them.  Even  upon 
the  resting  places  only  purslain  grew.1  The  buffalo  "trace", 
as  it  was  called  by  the  pioneer,  was  spacious  enough  for 
two  wagons  to  go  abreast 2  and  where  the  buffaloes  "  had 
thundered  over  it  for  a  thousand  years  in  their  journey  to 
the  Salt  Licks  "  it  was  in  places  five  or  six  feet  deep.  Even 
the  cross-country  roads  made  by  these  animals  were  wider 
than  ordinary  public  highways  are  today.3  The  Illinois 
prairies  were  covered  with  a  tall,  rank  grass  which  made 
it  difficult  to  go  across  country  without  being  constantly  in 
danger  of  losing  the  way.  The  multitude  of  beaten  buffalo 
paths  made  over  it,  however,  in  whole  or  part,  eliminated 
this  danger.  Moreover,  they  took  the  traveler  across  the 
prairies  "  and  through  dense  forests,  impenetrable  from 
heavy  canes,  pea  vines  and  other  undergrowth",  over  a  much 
more  direct  route  than  he  could  possibly  map  out  for 
himself.4 

The  buffalo  paths  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  like  the  rivers  in  that  area,  served  as  English  rather 
than  French  roads.  Here  they  not  only  pointed  out  to  the 

1  Hennepin,  A  New  Disco-very,  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  148;  Hall,  p.  no;  Hul- 
bert,  vol.  i,  pp.  101-120. 

2  Butler,  A  History  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky,  App.,  p.  462. 

3  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  xii,  p.  75;  vol.  xiii,  p.  170. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  184-185 ;  Zeisberger,  Diary  of  David  Zeisberger 
etc.,  in  Hist,  and  Phil.  Soc.  of  Ohio,  New  Ser.,  vol.  i,  pp.  17-195  Jef- 
ferys,  pt.  i,  Louisiana,  p.  136. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[84 


English  trader  the  way  over  the  mountains  but  also  directed 
his  course  across  the  country.  One  of  these  men  writes: 
"  We  traveled  to  Rocky  Ridge  (Clinch  Mountain).  I  went 
up  to  the  top  to  look  for  a  Pass.  .  .  .  To  the  Eastward 
were  many  small  Mountains  and  a  Buffalo  Road  between 
them  and  the  Ridges  ...  a  large  Buffalo  Road  goes  from 
the  Forks  to  the  Creek  over  the  West  Ridge,  which  we  took 
and  found  the  Ascent  and  Descent  tolerably  easie  'V  In 
all  probability,  other  passes  through  the  mountains  were 
discovered  in  similar  fashion.2  The  buffalo  roads  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  too,  aided  the  pioneer  in  his  ad- 
vance westward.  Thomas  Benton  at  a  later  date  says  the 
"  buffalo  blazed  the  way  for  the  railways  to  the  Pacific  ".3 

Indian  trails,  though  much  less  well-defined,  were  far 
more  numerous  than  the  paths  of  the  buffalo.  The  Indians 
had  paths  for  trade,  hunting  and  war,  and  others  that 
led  only  from  the  camp  down  to  the  river.  Marquette 
and  his  companions,  at  sixty  leagues  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Wisconsin  river,  saw  the  footprints  of  men,  and  on 
further  search  they  found  a  well-beaten  path.  This  they 
followed  and  came  to  a  beautiful  prairie  and  an  Indian  vil- 
lage two  leagues  inland.4  There  were  still  other  trails  that 
followed  the  general  course  of  the  streams.  When  the  path 
lay  near  the  water  it  often  passed  through  marshes,  swamps 
and  thickets  where  it  was  almost  obliterated  by  weeds, 
briars  and  bushes.  In  other  places,  because  of  the  mean- 
derings  of  the  river,  the  "trace"  near  the  water's  edge  was 
abandoned  as  is  shown  in  the  following  quotation :  "  We 
kept  down  the  Creek  to  the  River  along  the  Indian  Road  to 

1  Filsott  Club  Pub.,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  44-47. 

1  Hulbert,  vol.  i,  pp.  133,  138. 

» Ibid.,  p.  137. 

* /«.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  115. 


85]  HIGHWAYS  85 

where  it  crosses.  .  .  .  After  riding  five  miles,  ...  we  left 
the  River,  it  being  very  crooked.  In  riding  three  miles  we 
came  on  it  again.  .  .  .  We  left  the  River  but  in  four  miles 
we  came  on  it  again  at  the  Mouth  of  Licking  Creek,  which 
we  went  up  and  down  another  ".*  In  flood  times  the  path 
near  the  water  had  to  be  given  up  entirely.  The  trail  over 
the  hills  lying  along,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  river, 
necessitated  some  hard  climbing ;  an  instance  is  given  where 
a  horse  "  stumbled  and  rolled  down  the  hill  like  a  wheel  ".* 

Leading  out  from  the  Indian  villages  and  passing  around 
them  through  the  surrounding  country  there  were  well-beaten 
hunting  paths.8  Where  the  hunting  grounds  were  remote 
from  the  camp  the  journey  thither  more  frequently  was 
made  by  the  water  routes.  Many  of  the  shorter  trails  as 
well  as  the  longer  ones  led  from  one  Indian  nation  to  an- 
other. The  longer  were  variously  used  according  to  the 
relations  existing  between  the  peoples  concerned.  Trails 
between  the  Illinois  and  Fox  in  the  Illinois  country,  and  the 
Chickasaw  and  Choctax  in  lower  Louisiana,  were  for  the 
most  part  war  paths,  and  for  that  reason  of  use  to  the 
French  also.4 

In  the  Illinois  country,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  valley, 
there  were  places  where,  from  time  to  time,  the  Indians 
congregated  for  the  purpose  of  securing  food  or  for  trad- 
ing with  one  another;  the  most  important  of  these  being 
at  what  are  now  Shawneetown,  Peoria  and  Danville,  at 
Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  upper  Illinois,  at  the  present  Rock 
Island,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river.  The 

1  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  50-51 ;  Zeisberger,  vol.  i,  pp.  I7-IQ- 

2  Journal  of  Captain  Post,  in  The  Olden  Times,  vol.  i,  pp.  150,  152. 
'  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixiii,  p.  169. 

4  Adair,  The  History  of  the  American  Indians,  pp.  295,  298,  302,  305, 
310,  326,  338,  356,  3575  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  i,  fol.  159- 


86  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [86 

Indians,  as  they  went  single  file  in  every  direction  to 
and  from  these  centers,  wore  deep  narrow  paths  that 
were  easily  discernible  and  therefore  were  utilized  by 
Europeans  who,  by  uniting  them,  in  some  cases  formed 
inter-colonial  trails.  From  1706  onward  there  was  such  a 
path  between  Kaskaskia  and  Detroit.  It  ran  almost  di- 
rectly northeast  from  the  former  village  across  the  present 
state  of  Illinois  to  Danville,  avoiding  on  the  way  all  the 
larger  streams.  On  this  part  of  the  route  the  French  fol- 
lowed such  highways  as  were  available  through  the  high 
prairie  land,  while  for  the  remainder  of  the  distance  they 
more  frequently  made  use  of  the  Indian  river  paths.  An- 
other of  these  "  traces  ",  known  as  the  "  Old  Sauk  Trail  ", 
passed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rock  river  almost  directly 
east  across  Illinois  where  it  turned  northeast  and  finally  ter- 
minated at  Maiden,  Canada.1 

Other  Indian  trails  passed  from  the  French  settle- 
ments on  the  Kaskaskia  and  Mississippi  rivers  to  other 
points  in  the  Illinois  country.  One  extended  from  Kas- 
kaskia by  a  somewhat  indirect  route  to  Fort  Massac  on  the 
Ohio.  This  trail,  before  the  end  of  French  control  in  the 
Mississippi  valley,  was  converted  into  a  military  road  and 
each  mile  marked  on  a  tree  by  the  side  of  the  path,  the 
numbers  being  cut  in  with  an  iron  and  then  painted 
red.2  Another  path  went  from  the  same  French  villages 
north  of  east  to  a  point  on  the  Wabash  river  near  the  place 
where  Fort  Vincennes  was  afterwards  located.  Later  it 
was  extended  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  where  it  joined  the 
"  Wilderness  Trail ".  From  Kaskaskia  to  the  Wabash,  a 

1  Parrish,  Historic  Illinois,  etc.,  pp.  121,  123;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  159; 
Jour.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  iv,  No.  2,  pp.  157-163,  212-222. 

*  Trans.  Ill  St.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  8,  p.  39. 


87]  HIGHWAYS  3- 

distance  of  105  miles,  a  horseman  could  pass  in  five  days. 
Not  during  the  French  period,  nor  for  many  years  after- 
ward, was  it  possible  to  traverse  this  route  with  a  cart.1 
Still  another  of  these  trails  passed  from  Kaskaskia.  This 
one,  by  way  of  Cahokia,  led  to  Peoria  and  from  there  to 
the  lead  regions  near  the  present  city  of  Galena,  Illinois. 
Along  this  route  pack-horses  carried  lead  from  the  Fever 
river  mines  to  Kaskaskia,  a  distance  of  "  thirty  leagues." 
There  was  also  a  road  fit  for  horses  and  carts  from  the 
mines  to  a  small  river  where  the  lead  could  be  loaded  on 
pirogues  of  light  draught  and  sent  to  Kaskaskia  by  water.2 
The  Indians  to  the  south  of  the  Ohio  river  also  had  trade, 
hunting  and  war  paths.  Iberville,  in  1702,  found  some  good 
bridle  trails,  that  he  said  could  easily  be  made  into  roads  fit 
for  carts,  between  the  different  Indian  villages  around 
Mobile.3  The  Creek  Indians  were  provided  similarly. 
Their  villages  were  favorably  located  for  trade  with  the 
English,  and  on  this  account  trails  led  out  from  the  Creek 
country  both  to  the  Indian  villages  farther  into  the  interior 
and  to  the  English  at  Fort  Moore  and  Augusta.  The 
"  High  Town  Path  "  began  at  High  Shoals  on  the  Oconee 
river  and  passed  westward  to  the  Chattahoochee  river, 
which  it  crossed  at  Shallow  Ford  north  of  the  present  city 
of  Atlanta.  It  then  turned  to  the  northeast  and  went  to 
High  Town  in  the  Cherokee  country,  and  from  there  al- 
most west  to  the  Chickasaw  villages  near  the  source  of  the 
Tombigbee  river.  Another  trail  began  on  the  same  river 
near  the  modern  city  of  Milledgeville,  ran  southwest  to  the 
Chattahoochee,  which  it  crossed  near  Cussets  and  from  there 

1  Parrish,  p.  124;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  i,  pp.  143-153;  Collet, 
vol.  i,  p.  337. 

2  Parrish,  pp.  121,  124;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  187;  Reps,  and  Colls.  St.  Hist. 
Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xiii,  p.  277;  A.  N.,  C.,  S£r.  C18,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  11-12. 

3  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  514. 


88  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [88 

the  path  led  north  of  west  to  the  Coosa  river.  This  river 
it  crossed  and  followed  along  its  left  bank  to  the  Coosa 
Towns.  There  was  also  a  Creek  trail  into  the  interior  be- 
tween these  two,  and  another  from  the  lower  Creeks  farther 
to  the  south.1  This  latter  path  extended  south  of  west  to 
the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee  rivers  to  the  Choctaw,  with  a 
southern  branch  which  in  turn  divided,  one  trail  going  to 
Mobile,  the  other  to  Pensacola.  From  Fort  Toulouse  the 
path  followed  the  high  lands  at  some  distance  from  the 
river.2  From  St.  Louis  Bay  on  the  Gulf  there  was  an 
Indian  path  that  zigzagged  from  one  of  the  Indian  villages 
to  another  and  terminated  at  the  village  of  the  Choctaw 
chieftain.8  The  Choctaw  also  had  three  trails,  western, 
middle  and  eastern,  that  led  to  Mobile.4  Between  the 
friendly  Natchez  and  Chickasaw  there  was  a  well-defined 
"  trace  "  which  was  used  in  1742  by  Deverges,  "  ingenieur  " 
for  the  colony  of  Louisiana,  who  that  year  made  a  journey 
to  the  Chickasaw.5 

Trips  of  this  sort  usually  were  not  made  by  land  because 
of  the  danger  from  Indian  attacks  and  the  morasses  and 
thick  forests  that  had  to  be  traveled.  There  was  always 
more  or  less  difficulty,  also,  in  procuring  food.  The  trail 
had  to  be  passed  over  on  foot,  and  even  if  game  were  found, 
it  was  not  of  much  service  when  a  man  could  carry  only  a 
small  supply  of  ammunition.  The  Indians,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  much  better  walkers  than  the  French,  and 

1  Winsor,  The  Miss.  Basin,  pp.  20-21,  47,  383;  Bartram,  Travels 
through  North  and  South  Carolina,  etc.,  pp.  346,  374,  419;  Trans.  Ala. 
Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  40-46. 

1  Trans.  Ala.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  40-47;  Catholic  Death  Register, 
MS.,  Mobile,  Ala. 

«  D'Anville's  Map,  1752,  N.  Y.  P.  Lib. 

*  Adair,  p.  298. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  145-146. 


89]  HIGHWAYS  89 

thought  little  of  going  for  a  considerable  length  of  time 
without  food.1 

During  the  French  control  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
many  of  the  Indian  and  buffalo  "traces  "  became  trade 
trails.  Along  these  paths  long  trains  of  pack-horses  were 
driven  in  regular  Indian  file,  the  veterans  in  the  van,  the 
free  horses,  driven  along  to  relieve  the  worn-out  ones,  in 
the  rear.  After  the  order  of  march  for  the  day  was  ar- 
ranged, the  chief  driver  cracked  his  tough  cowhide  whip 
and  gave  an  Indian  whoop,  both  of  which  were  repeated 
by  the  other  drivers,  and  at  once  the  train  set  off  at  a  brisk 
trot  which  was  not  slackened  as  long  as  the  horses  were 
able  to  move  forward.  Each  animal  wore  a  bell  which,  at 
the  start,  was  muffled  by  means  of  a  twist  of  grass  or 
leaves.  It  soon  shook  out.  Nothing  further  being  done  to 
stop  the  noise  which  was  increased  by  the  Indian  whoops 
and  curses  of  the  drivers,  the  day  was  filled  with  a  continu- 
ous uproar.  When  two  of  the  horse-trains  met  on  the  trail 
they  saluted  each  other  several  times  with  a  general  whoop 
and  other  shouts  of  friendship;  then  they  struck  camp  near 
each  other.  Due  to  their  well-known  preference  for  water- 
ways, Frenchmen  seldom  made  use  of  such  pack-trains. 
They  were  in  the  main  an  English  device  for  carrying  on 
illicit  trade  in  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi.2 

Many  of  the  Indians  carried  on  their  backs  over  these 
trails  packs  of  skins  to  the  English  or  French  markets,  and, 
as  was  the  case  in  most  things,  the  Europeans  followed  the 
example  set  them  by  the  natives.  Two  or  three  of  such 
English  pack-peddlers  at  a  time  would  skulk  "  Arab  like  " 
about  an  Indian  village,  while  in  the  winter  season  they 
carried  their  packs  of  "spirituous  liquor  and  cheating  trifles 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  1744,  p.  8. 
1  Bartram,  p.  442;  Collot,  vol.  ii,  p.  299. 


90  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [90 

after  the  Indian  hunting  camp  "-1  The  methods  of  the 
French  pack-peddlers  were  not  different,  except  that  they 
carried  their  packs  on  their  backs  where  they  were  held  in 
place  by  a  strap  resting  against  the  forehead.2 

In  crossing  the  streams  the  travelers  attempted,  with 
more  or  less  success,  to  imitate  the  methods  of  the  Indians. 
A  tree  was  cut  down  so  as  to  fall  across  a  river  and  thus  be 
used  as  a  bridge;  in  crossing  smaller  streams  saplings  were 
employed  in  the  same  way.  An  Indian  could  pass  easily 
and  quickly  over  a  "  raccoon  bridge  ",  as  it  was  called,  with 
a  hundred  pounds  of  skins  on  his  shoulder,  while  Euro- 
peans sometimes  found  it  hard,  even  without  luggage,  to 
shuffle  along  over  it  astride.*  When  possible  they  forded 
the  streams  with  horses,  but  when  this  could  not  be  done 
with  safety  to  the  packs,  the  horses  were  unloaded  and 
driven  across.  The  men  then  stripped  themselves  and 
waded  the  river,  breast  deep,  carrying  on  their  shoulders 
their  belongings  in  order  to  keep  them  dry.  One  man  says 
it  took  four  crossings  to  transfer  their  baggage  to  the 
opposite  bank.  If  the  stream  was  too  deep  and  wide 
for  any  of  these  methods,  a  bark  canoe  or  raft  was 
hastily  constructed  for  the  purpose.  If  the  raft  was  used, 
when  completed,  a  strong  grape  vine  the  length  of  the 
width  of  the  river  was  tied  to  each  end  of  the  raft.  A  man 
took  the  end  of  one  of  the  vines  in  his  mouth  and  swam 
to  the  opposite  shore.  By  means  of  the  vine  he  then  pulled 
the  loaded  raft  across  the  river  while  a  man  on  the  other 
bank  steadied  it  by  means  of  the  other  vine,  and  when 
it  was  unloaded  pulled  it  back  to  be  reloaded.4  Notwith- 

1  Adair,  p.  367. 

2  Pittman,  p.  102;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fols.  142-145. 
8  Bartram,  p.  445. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  444-445 ;  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  47,  52,  73. 


9i]  HIGHWAYS  9I 

standing  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  traveling,  some 
of  these  European  wayfarers,  as  early  as  1715,  were  cour- 
ageous enough  to  go  across  country  unaided  by  either  paths 
or  Indian  guides.1 

Later  when  the  Mississippi  valley  fell  under  the  control 
of  the  English  some  of  the  Indian  trails  became  well-known 
roads.  For  example,  the  trail  through  Cumberland  Gap 
to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  Wild- 
erness Road  ".  Over  this  route  and  numerous  by-paths 
pack-horses  and  travelers  passed  to  all  parts  of  the  territory 
along  the  Ohio,  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers.2  To 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  the  route  followed  by  the  Mallet 
brothers  and  their  companions  (1739-1740)  in  going  from 
the  Illinois  country  to  Santa  Fe,  although  not  used  as  a 
highway  by  the  French,  later  became  the  famous  "  Santa 
Fe  Trail  ".3 

In  the  settled  areas  of  the  Mississippi  valley  the  French 
made  some  efforts  in  the  direction  of  road  building.  At 
first  they  worked  in  accord  with  a  French  law  of  1669  that 
regulated  such  matters  in  the  mother  country,  and  as  settle- 
ments were  made  along  the  Mississippi,  levees  and  roads 
were  built.4  For  a  time  each  year  the  Mississippi  floods  in- 
terrupted the  communication  between  the  Illinois  country 
and  the  Gulf  settlements.  In  1720  the  Company  of  the 
Indies  advised  the  "  ordonnateur  "  and  the  commandant  to 
work  together  to  obviate  this  difficulty.  It  was  proposed, 
therefore,  to  establish  and  keep  in  good  order  a  series  of 
post-roads  between  the  two  areas  which  would  make  it  pos- 
sible to  forward  letters  and  messages  without  delay.  Two 
messengers  were  to  leave  Biloxi  monthly  for  the  Illinois  and 

1  Year  Book,  City  of  Charleston,  1894,  pp.  35O-35I- 

*  Speed,  The  Wilderness  Road,  in  Filson  Club  Pub.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  1-74. 

3  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  455-492. 

4  American  State  Papers,  Public  Lands,  vol.  ii,  pp.  42-65. 


[92 

vice  versa.  The  proposal  was  not  acted  upon  and  no  such 
route  was  ever  established.1  Later  in  the  period  of  French 
rule,  however,  there  appears  to  have  been  a  path  without 
posts,  along  which  the  men  towing  boats  traveled  up  and 
down  the  Mississippi.2 

In  1732  Governor  Perier  and  the  "  ordonnateur  "  issued 
an  ordinance  which  changed  the  old  road  law  to  make  it  fit 
conditions  in  Louisiana.  To  this  end  they  decreed  that  men 
owing  land  along  the  Mississippi  river  must  make  a  clear- 
ing along  the  river  front  to  the  depth  of  three  arpents 
(sixty-six  feet).  At  eight  toise  (forty-eight  feet)  from 
the  water  and  an  arpent  apart  (twenty-two  feet)  they  were 
to  plant  a  twelve-foot  green  oak  or  cypress  post,  eight  feet 
under  ground,  with  the  part  above  ground  not  less  than 
four  feet  in  circumference.  These  posts  were  for  the  con- 
venience of  vessels  that  might  make  landings  there.  The 
owners  of  the  land  also  were  to  build  and  keep  in  repair  a 
levee  six  feet  wide  and  not  less  than  two  feet  high  near 
the  water's  edge.  Upon  the  levee  there  was  to  be  a  foot 
and  bridle  path  and  on  the  land  side  of  the  levee  from  the 
capital  to  Gentilly  and  Bayou  St.  Jean  a  wagon-road  eight 
toise  (forty-eight  feet)  wide.  The  men  owning  land  con- 
tiguous to  the  road  were  to  keep  it  and  its  bridges  in  repair. 
Each  was  to  have  his  part  of  the  work  completed  within 
six  months  after  the  publication  of  the  ordinance,  or  be 
liable  to  a  fine  of  fifty  livres.  The  burden  to  the  land  own- 
ers was  not  great  since  only  the  part  referring  to  the  levees 
was  enforced.3 

In  1735  an  ordinance  was  enacted  making  it  illegal  for 
any  one  to  place  obstructions  upon  these  highways.4  Nature, 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  624-625. 

1  Hall,  p.  221 ;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxiv,  pp.  60-61. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  October  4,  1732. 

4  Ibid.,  April  3,  1735. 


93]  HIGHWAYS  93 

however,  was  not  included  under  this  ordinance,  and  dur- 
ing the  rainy  season  all  burdens  had  to  be  carried  over  the 
roads  on  the  heads  of  negroes.1  In  1743  it  again  became 
necessary  to  pass  an  ordinance  for  the  building  of  new  and 
the  repairing  of  old  roads.  In  the  main  it  differed  little 
from  those  already  enacted.2  In  1749  still  another  ordi- 
nance was  issued.  This  bade  the  colonists  keep  the  levees, 
bridges  and  roads  throughout  the  province  in  repair.3  With 
the  growth  of  settlements  above  and  below  New  Orleans 
the  levee  was  extended  and  by  the  end  of  French  control 
there  was  a  good  coach  road  along  the  river  fifty  miles  in 
length,  eighteen  miles  of  which  was  below  New  Orleans. 
When  the  vessels  were  detained  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time  at  the  "  English  Turn  "  waiting  a  change  of  wind, 
passengers  wishing  to  hasten  their  arrival  at  New  Orleans 
disembarked  here  and  finished  the  journey  by  land.4 
By  this  time,  furthermore,  many  semi-public  roads  had 
been  built.  These  highways  ran  back  from  the  river 
and  lay  between  the  different  allotments  of  land.  They 
were  laid  out,  constructed  and  kept  up  at  the  expense  of 
the  men  whose  land  lay  on  either  side  and  by  such  persons 
who  derived  benefit  from  them.  They  were  narrower  than 
the  public  highways,  though  built  in  the  same  way  with  a 
ditch  on  either  side  of  the  road  itself.5 

In  the  village  of  New  Orleans  the  streets  were  laid  out  in 
much  the  same  way  as  the  highways  outside.  On  either 
side  there  was  a  ditch  two  feet  wide  and  one  to  one  and  a 
half  feet  in  depth,  so  as  to  render  the  streets  passable  for 

1  Ibid.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  11-16. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  October  13,  1743. 

« Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  October  13,  1749- 

*  Pittman,  p.  41 ;  Hutchins,  p.  412 ;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  259. 

*  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fol.  230. 


94  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [94 

carriages  or  even  for  foot  passengers.  Up  to  1732  the 
bridges  over  these  ditches  had  been  made  of  wood.  As 
they  had  always  entailed  a  considerable  annual  expense  for 
repairs,  it  was  proposed  that,  for  the  health  and  conveni- 
ence of  the  people,  all  such  bridges  within  the  villages 
should  be  built  of  brick,  since  no  lumber,  in  contact  with 
the  ground  and  subjected  to  the  damp  climate  of  New  Or- 
leans, would  last  above  a  year  or  two  at  most.  Many  of 
the  inhabitants  were  too  poor  to  bear  this  expense,  if  it 
were  to  be  borne  by  the  householders  alone;  therefore  it 
was  planned  to  secure  a  part  of  the  money,  at  least,  from 
a  tax  of  five  sols  a  head  on  all  negroes.  One  hundred 
and  sixteen  bridges,  at  an  expense  for  two  at  each  corner 
of  105  livres  and  nineteen  sols,  would  be  needed.  If  the 
water  were  made  to  run  in  such  a  way  as  to  require  but 
one  bridge,  this  could  be  built  at  a  cost  of  fifty-eight 
livres,  twelve  sols.  The  commissioner  of  public  works, 
Dubreuil,  offered  to  furnish  the  brick  necessary,  at  nine 
livres  a  thousand,  taking  in  payment  a  note  payable  in 
three  years.1  The  home  government  seems  to  have  ap- 
proved the  plan,  for  on  July  4,  1735,  an  ordinance  was 
passed  making  it  obligatory  for  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Orleans  to  build  bridges  or  suffer  a  penalty  of  ten  livres 
for  disobedience.  The  ordinance,  however,  was  not  faith- 
fully executed.2 

Roads  were  constructed  in  the  Illinois  country  also.  In 
1743  Governor  Vaudreuil  ordered  roads  at  the  so-called 
"  square  lines  "  to  be  built  and  kept  up  for  carts  and  cattle 
to  pass  over  to  the  "  common  ".  The  highways  to  the  Kas- 
kaskia  river  and  thence  to  the  Mississippi  were  maintained 
at  the  expense  of  the  community,  whereas  those  to  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C™,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  136. 
»  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  4,  1735. 


CARTE  DES  ENVIRONS  DE  LA   NOUVELLE-ORLEANS,    1760  ' 


Red  Lines  indicate 

Roada 
Stjuares  size  of 

Farms 


:^^^SSii3ilii!IPli^''~ 

Do^si53Tfr 


D 


CARTE   DES   ENVIRONS   DE    LA    FORTE    ROSALIE 


Red   Lines   indicate 

Roads 

Squares    size   of 
Farms 


1  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  129. 

2  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  p.  96. 


95]  HIGHWAYS  95 

"  common  "  were  to  be  looked  after  by  the  owners  of  the 
land  through  which  they  passed.1  A  road  led  from  Kas- 
kaskia  to  the  other  French  settlements  of  the  Illinois  coun- 
try. It  extended  over  a  distance  of  fourteen  leagues  to  the 
village  of  Prairie  du  Rocher,  passed  through  it  and  ran 
twelve  miles  farther  on  to  Fort  Chartres.  From  here  to 
St.  Philippe  it  was  eight  miles,  and  a  day's  journey  to  Caho- 
kia.2  West  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  St.  Genevieve  district, 
pack-horse  roads  stretched  from  the  mines  to  the  nearest 
river,  or  to  St.  Genevieve.  These  trails  varied  in  length 
from  six  miles  to  a  hundred.*  A  much-frequented  road 
led  from  St.  Genevieve  to  the  salt-licks  one  league  from  the 
village.4  In  the  Natchitoches  district  also  there  was  a  road 
seven  leagues  in  length  and  extending  to  the  Spanish  settle- 
ment of  Adayes.  This  highway  and  a  portage  around  the 
falls  below  the  village  constituted  the  only  roads  in  this 
area  during  the  period  of  French  occupation.5 

In  the  Illinois  country  small  native  horses  drew  over  the 
road  a  two-wheeled  "  bare-footed "  cart  (i.  e,,  without 
tires).  To  these  carts  by  means  of  harness  neatly  made 
from  strong  pieces  of  rawhide,  the  horses  were  hitched 
tandem.  Although  small,  they  were  strong  and  willing 
workers,  and  consequently  pulled  fairly  large  burdens. 
For  the  heavier  loads  oxen,  yoked  by  the  horns,  were 
hitched  to  the  carts.8 

On  the  lower  Mississippi  horses  were  used  chiefly  for  rid- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  14,  1743  J  Breese,  App.,  p.  295. 

*  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  159;  Collet,  vol.  i,  pp.  325-333- 

3  Austin,  A  Summary  Description  of  the  Lead  Mines  in  Upper  Louis- 
iana, etc.,  pp.  3-17;  Pittman,  p.  95. 

4  Pittman,  p.  95 ;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  97. 

*  VAnville's  Map,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

6  Reynolds,  The  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,  pp.  49-50 ;  Moses,  vol.  i, 
p.  105. 


96 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[96 


HUTCHINS'    MAP1 

ing  and  for  carriages,  and  even  for  those  purposes  they 
were  too  small  to  be  greatly  esteemed.  The  two-wheeled 
carts  were  usually  drawn  by  oxen.  Before  the  end  of  the 
French  regime  a  large  majority  of  the  well-to-do  persons  in 
this  part  of  the  province  owned  some  sort  of  conveyance 
and  horses  or  oxen  or  both.  In  New  Orleans  there  were 
carriages  and  coaches.  The  first  of  the  former  type  was 
brought  from  Havana  in  1730  and  the  second,  three  years 
later  by  Bienville,  after  which  the  number  increased  more 
rapidly.  In  1753  almost  all  men  of  means  at  the  capital 
owned  a  chaise  and  two  horses  and  there  were  some  who 
had  berlins  and  coaches  drawn  by  four  horses.* 

1  Hutching  Map;  Winsor,  The  Miss.  Basin,  p.  460. 
J  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  1744,  p.  18;  Villiers  du  Ter- 
rage,  p.  46. 


CHAPTER  VII 
BARTER 

TURNING  from  this  study  of  the  facilities  of  transportation 
to  an  examination  of  the  various  commercial  processes,  it 
may  be  remarked  that  when  the  French  came  to  the  Mississippi 
valley  they  found  the  Indians  carrying  on  trade  by  means  of 
barter,  as  might  naturally  be  expected  among  primitive  peo- 
ples. Captives  taken  in  war  were  disposed  of  in  this  way. 
The  Illinois  Indians  warred  on  tribes  to  the  south  and  west 
of  them  for  the  sole  purpose  of  securing  captives  whom  they 
"  bartered,  selling  at  a  high  price  to  other  nations  for 
muskets,  powder,  kettles,  hatchets  and  knives  ",l  and  to  the 
Iroquois  for  peace.2  To  the  south  of  the  Ohio  were  the 
Chickasaw  who  in  their  numerous  encounters  with  weaker 
tribes,  secured  captives  for  whom  they,  too,  bartered  with 
other  Indians.3  Slaves  and  many  objects  thus  passed  from 
tribe  to  tribe.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  find  bartered  goods 
miles  away  from  the  place  of  their  origin.  Marquette,  for 
example,  found  the  Arkansas  Indians  in  possession  of  com- 
modities that  had  been  obtained  from  the  Illinois  and  other 
Indians  still  more  remote.4 

Moreover  the  Indians  along  the  Mississippi,  before  the 
French  arrived,  had  had  some  experience  in  trading  with 
Europeans.  The  Illinois  and  other  tribes  met  at  Michili- 
mackinac  traders  from  New  France  with  whom  they  ex- 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  liv,  p.  191 ;  vol.  lix,  p.  127. 
1  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  i,  p.  5<5- 

3  La  Harpe,  pp.  89-90,  186. 

4  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  lix,  p.  155. 

97]  97 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[98 


changed  skins  for  French  merchandise,1  while  the  southern 
Indians  made  similar  exchanges  with  the  Spanish  of  Pen- 
sacola  and  New  Mexico  and  the  English  of  Carolina,2  It 
is,  therefore,  not  surprising  to  read  that  Marquette  found 
the  Illinois  Indians  would  give  "  hardly  any  more  than  do 
the  French  ".  They  acted  so  much  like  skilled  traders,  in 
fact,  that,  after  he  had  traded  a  cubit  of  tobacco  with  them 
for  three  fine  ox  skins,  he  felt  impelled  to  say  mass  immedi- 
ately on  being  rid  of  them.3 

Throughout  the  period  of  French  control  trade  with  the 
Indians  continued  to  be  carried  on  by  means  of  barter. 
Father  Gravier,  on  his  way  to  the  Illinois,  in  1700,  gave  "  a 
little  lead  and  powder,  a  box  of  vermillion  wherewith  to 
daub  his  young  men,  and  some  other  trifles  "  to  the  chief 
of  the  Arkansas  tribes  for  a  quantity  of  "  dried  peaches, 
of  Piachimina  "  (persimmons),  and  squashes.4  Several 
years  later  Father  Poisson,  in  passing  over  the  same 
route,  observed  that  the  Indian  "gives  nothing  for  nothing" 
and  declared  that  the  French  must  follow  the  same  practice 
or  expose  themselves  to  the  contempt  of  the  Indians.5  The 
French  traders  made  no  error  of  that  sort.  They  carried 
their  merchandise  to  the  Indians  and  exchanged  it  for 
bear's  oil,  corn,  beans,  horses,  furs,  slaves  and  other  Indian 
commodities.  In  such  transfers  each  party  forced  upon 
the  other  the  hardest  possible  bargain.6 

Where  the  French  traders  held  practically  a  monopoly  of 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  91  ;  Shea,  Disc,  and  Exp.  etc.,  p.  liv. 
a  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  516-519;  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc., 
1744,  PP-  9-1  1. 
3  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  175. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixv,  pp.  121-123.  "Ibid.,  vol.  Ixvii,  p.  257. 

6  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  230,  246,  280;  Kerlerec's  Report,  1758,  p.  67; 
Charlevoix,  Hist,  and  Gen.  Description  of  New  France,  vol.  vi,  p.  32; 
The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  1744,  p.  n;  Doc.  Rel.  Col. 
Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  409. 


99J  BARTER  og 

control  in  any  region  they  were  able  to  secure  fabulous 
profits  from  their  dealings.  Sometimes  they  carried  their 
extortions  to  the  extent  of  offending  the  Indians  by  the 
ridiculously  low  prices  they  offered.  One  such  trader  had 
the  temerity  to  offer  an  Indian  one  charge  of  powder  and 
a  bullet  for  a  beaver  skin,  whereupon  the  Indian  replied  by 
burying  a  hatchet  in  the  head  of  the  trader.1  The  possi- 
bility of  such  unfair  exchange,  however,  came  to  an  end 
when  the  English  traders  entered  the  field  as  competitors. 
The  newcomers  studied  the  tastes  of  the  Indians  with  more 
care  than  the  French  did,  and  hence  were  able  to  offer  a 
more  attractive,  diversified  and  richer  stock  of  merchan- 
dise.2 With  these  two  sets  of  traders  in  the  field,  each  try- 
ing to  gain  the  whole  of  the  trade,  the  Indians  henceforth 
were  able  to  secure  for  themselves  better  returns  in  trading 
operations  with  Europeans. 

Since  the  Indians  looked  upon  good  opportunities  for 
traffic  as  a  clear  evidence  of  friendship,  the  competitor  who 
offered  the  better  commodities  at  a  lower  rate  was  always 
able  to  attract  them  and  to  keep  them  friendly  and  obe- 
dient, so  long  at  least  as  the  advantage  lasted.*  For  the 
most  part  the  attitude  of  the  Indians  toward  the  whites 
was  based  on  economic  considerations  alone.  During  the 
time  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  Creeks  were  accused 
of  playing  off  the  French  and  English  against  each  other  in 
order  to  secure  better  bargains  in  trade.  When  forced  out 
of  this  neutrality  they  went  over  to  the  side  that  seemed  to 
them  the  stronger.4 

1  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  v,  p.  87. 

1  Public  Records  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  v,  p.  196;  vol.  viii,  p.  227. 
Transcripts,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

»  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  p.  196;  Board  of  Trade  Papers,  pt.  2,  vol.  x,  1718-1720, 
Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 

4  Bancroft  Papers,  Col.  Doc.,  I755-I7S7,  Dec.  25,  1756;  1758-1760,  Oct. 
»,  1758,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 


100  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IOo 

Barter  was  not  confined  to  exchanges  made  between  the 
Indians  themselves,  as  has  been  shown,  nor  was  it  used 
only  when  the  Indian  was  a  party.  In  the  French  settle- 
ments of  the  interior,  barter  was  always  the  way  in  which 
by  far  the  larger  number  of  exchanges  were  effected. 
Almost  from  the  beginning  of  French  occupation,  also, 
produce  from  the  Arkansas,  Natchitoches,  Wabash  and 
Illinois  districts  found  its  way  to  the  Gulf  region  there  to 
be  exchanged  for  other  merchandise.  Wheat,  flour,  hams, 
bees-wax,  lead,  salt,  furs,  tobacco,  bear's  oil  and  other 
products  were  traded  for  spirituous  liquors,  groceries,  dry 
goods  and  articles  especially  needful  in  the  Indian  trade.1 
In  none  of  these  transactions  was  there  a  fixed  standard  of 
value.  They  were  carried  on  purely  by  barter.  Undoubt- 
edly peltry  and  lead  passed  freely  in  exchange ; 2  but  there 
is  no  evidence  of  any  standard  of  value  among  the  French 
of  the  interior  settlements  or  elsewhere  in  Louisiana  com- 
parable with  the  "  made  beaver  ",8  or  wampum  of  the  Eng- 
lish.4 The  article  last  named  was  not  used  by  the  French 
in  the  Mississippi  valley  except  by  traders  from  New 
France  when  they  were  dealing  with  Indians  who  were  allies 
of  the  English.5 

In  the  French  settlements  of  lower  Louisiana,  as  in  those 
to  the  northward,  barter  was  always  used  in  exchanges 
with  the  Indians.  This  method  of  action,  however,  did 
not  persist  among  the  French  themselves  in  that  area. 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  213;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  331;  Pitt- 
man,  pp.  62,  82,  98;  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  pp.  56-57. 

*  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvii,  p.  54. 

*  New  England  Magazine,  vol.  xxxiii,  p.  260 ;  "  Made  beaver  "  was  a 
full-grown,  perfect  beaver  skin  taken  from  the  animal  killed  in  season, 
properly  cured  and  weighing  from  a  pound  to  a  pound  and  a  quarter. 

4  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  p.  56 ;  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  xxvii,  p.  54.         . 

*  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  i,  p.  59. 


101]  BARTER  IOI 

Almost  from  the  foundation  of  the  colony  the  French  here 
made  use  of  some  form  of  money.  There  were,  neverthe- 
less, many  transactions  in  which  merchandise  was  given 
for  service  rendered,  and  for  colonial  products.  Those 
who  had  labor  or  produce  to  sell  for  the  most  part  pre- 
ferred to  exchange  it  for  French  foodstuffs  and  other  goods.1 
In  1723  the  carpenters  at  work  for  the  Company  of  the 
Indies  received  in  merchandise  the  amount  of  the  wages 
they  were  to  use  in  Louisiana,  whereas  the  part  that  was  to 
go  to  the  support  of  their  families  in  France  was  paid  in 
silver.2 

1  Charlevoix,  Hist,  and  Gen.  Desc.  of  New  France,  vol.  vi,  pp.  32-33 ; 
Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  653,  661 ;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  viii,  fol.  123. 
1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  652-653,  661. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
SILVER  COINS 

THE  only  coins  in  circulation  in  Louisiana  during  the 
earlier  years  of  its  existence  were  those  brought  over  by 
the  colonists  themselves  or  received  by  them  from  sailors 
for  provisions.1  Efforts  were  soon  made,  however,  to  se- 
cure piastres  from  the  Spanish  settlements  near  by.2  Trade 
sprang  up  between  the  inhabitants  of  Biloxi  and  the  soldiers 
of  Pensacola,  which  put  a  small  amount  of  silver  into  cir- 
culation. It  did  not  remain  long,  because  on  the  arrival  of 
the  first  vessel  it  was  exchanged  for  European  merchandise 
and  carried  to  France  on  the  return  voyage.3  From  this 
source,  nevertheless,  a  little  silver  continued  to  flow  into 
the  colony  until  the  arrival,  in  1712,  of  the  Crozat  officials 
who  ordered  the  Pensacola  trade  stopped.  The  enforce- 
ment of  the  order  greatly  distressed  trade  and  practically 
deprived  the  province  of  its  only  medium  of  exchange.4 

With  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  Company  of  the 
West  another  channel  through  which  a  little  Spanish 
money  might  enter  was  opened  by  the  planting  of  the  out- 
post of  Natchitoches  on  the  frontier  of  Texas,  not  far 
from  the  Spanish  station  of  Adayes.  The  former  supplied 
the  latter  with  food  in  exchange  for  Spanish  money.  This 
trade  lasted  only  about  two  years  when  the  Spanish  of  that 

1  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  p.  53.  *  Margry,  vol.  vi,,  p.  180. 

8  A.  N.f  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  Hi,  fols.  212-213;   Charlevotx,  Hist,  and 
Gen.  Desc.  of  New  France,  vol.  vi,  pp.  32-33. 
4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  v,  pp.  4&-49- 

102  [102 


103]  SILVER  COINS 

post  began  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  thus  provide  themselves 
with  a  food  supply.  For  some  time  longer  the  trade  in 
French  merchandise  continued,  and  amounted  annually  to 
about  two  hundred  piastres.  Later  this  sum  was  consid- 
erably reduced  by  the  introduction  into  Adayes  of  cheaper 
and  more  desirable  English  merchandise.1  Some  Spanish 
coins  also  came  into  Louisiana  by  way  of  the  Illinois  coun- 
try. These  the  French  obtained  in  trade  with  the  western 
Indians  who  secured  them  directly  or  indirectly  from  New 
Mexico.2  With  the  entrance  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies 
into  control,  the  Mobile-Pensacola  trade  was  revived,  and 
by  1720  Mobile  had  become  a  flourishing  village  with  an 
abundance  of  Spanish  money.3 

The  Spanish,  like  the  French,  specie  flowed  out  of  the 
province  too  freely,  thereby  leaving  a  serious  shortage. 
This  drain,  due,  it  was  believed,  to  the  fact  that  the  piastre 
was  received  in  trade  in  Louisiana  for  but  four  livres,  while 
by  royal  decree  it  was  given  a  higher  value  in  Martinique 
and  St.  Domingue,  could  be  checked  only  by  making  the 
value  of  the  Spanish  piece  uniform  in  all  the  French  colonies 
in  America.  Accordingly  the  home  government  by  an  edict, 
January  12,  1723,  raised  the  piastre  to  the  value  (seven 
livres  ten  sols)  it  had  in  the  French  West  Indies.4  As  this 
action  did  not  improve  conditions,  a  series  of  reductions, 
February  26,  May  2,  and  October  30,  1724,  were  made, 
which  brought  the  value  of  the  piastre  down  to  four  livres 
ten  sols,  almost  the  value  it  had  had  before  the  first  change 
was  made,  though  without  greatly  affecting  the  outflow.5 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  231. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  297. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  363 ;  La  Harpe,  p.  327. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  January  12,  1723;  French  MSS.  Miss. 
Galley,  1679-1796,  La.  Hist.  Soc.  Lib. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii ;  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  51-62. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IO4 

For  about  two  years  the  Spanish  money  retained  the 
value  given  it  by  the  edict  of  October  30,  1724.  On  June 
15,  1725,  the  crown  increased  the  rate  for  the  coinage  of 
gold  and  silver  bullion  received  at  the  mint  of  France.  To 
meet  this  situation,  on  September  13,  1726,  it  raised  the 
value  of  the  piastre  from  four  livres  to  five,  and  the  change 
should  go  into  effect  when  the  royal  edict  was  published  in 
Louisiana.1  As  specie  continued  to  be  scarce,  in  1727  the 
Company  of  the  Indies  made  five-sol  silver  pieces  of  the 
same  value  as  the  Spanish  piastre  and  the  French  ecu. 
Since  local  necessities  required  something  like  20,000  livres 
in  circulation,  the  Company  was  requested  by  its  agents 
in  the  colony  to  send  over  not  less  than  50,000  or  60,000 
livres'  worth  of  these  five-sol  pieces,  so  as  to  offset  some- 
what the  risk  that,  on  the  arrival  of  the  first  vessel,  most  of 
the  hard  money  would  be  carried  back  to  France.  The 
next  year  the  silver  asked  for  had  not  yet  reached  Louisiana, 
where  it  was  greatly  needed  to  pay  the  troops  and  meet 
other  expenses  of  the  government.2  Any  assurances  on  this 
point  in  fact,  seem  never  to  have  been  fulfilled,  for  both 
gold  and  silver  to  the  end  of  the  Company's  control  con- 
tinued to  be  rare,  and  what  was  received  quickly  passed 
back  to  France.* 

From  1731  to  1735  the  crown  met  the  expenses  of  gov- 
ernment in  Louisiana  partly  with  French  money,  and  partly 
with  merchandise.*  As  was  the  case  during  the  time  of 
the  Company,  the  silver  speedily  found  its  way  to  France, 
leaving  the  colony  without  a  metallic  currency,  except  a 
small  amount  of  copper  and  a  few  Spanish  coins  gotten 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F*,  vol.  ccxlii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  June  15,  1725. 

2  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  54-56,  86;  vol.  x,  fols.  193-194. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  166-171. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  142-143;  vol.  xvi,  fol.  271. 


105]  SILVER  COINS  I05 

in  trade  with  Pensacola.1  The  use  of  these  two  kinds  of 
money  caused  difficulty  in  Louisiana,  since  some  of  the 
Spanish  coins  had  no  equivalent  in  the  French  money. 
On  January  26,  1732,  in  order  to  facilitate  commerce,  Gov- 
ernor Perier,  in  conjunction  with  the  "  ordonnateur ", 
issued  a  decree  fixing  the  value  of  the  Spanish  silver  in 
terms  of  French  money.  Beginning  with  the  highest,  each 
of  the  Spanish  coins  was  to  have  a  value  double  that  of  the 
next  lower  denomination.  Even  the  smallest  of  these 
pieces,  the  "  quarter  real,"  though  unknown  in  the  other 
French  colonies,  was  used  in  Louisiana,  because  of  the  short- 
age of  small  money  there.2 

The  estimation  of  values  of  the  different  coins  in  use 
in  the  province  no  doubt  was  a  benefit  to  domestic  trade, 
but  gave  no  aid  to  the  keeping  of  the  silver  in  the  colony, 
which  was  the  problem  baffling  the  provincial  officials.  On 
April  12,  1734,  there  were  about  140,000  livres  in  specie  in 
the  treasury.  On  April  15,  1735,  this  amount  had  dwindled 
to  51,000;  on  October  12  there  were  but  32,290  livres,  and 
by  February  20,  1737,  the  silver  had  entirely  disappeared. 
Consequently,  even  though  required  by  royal  order  so  to 
do,  the  officials  were  unable,  for  the  next  two  years,  to 
pay  the  troops  in  specie.31  To  meet  this  emergency  the  gov- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F*,  vol.  ccxlii,  M.  S.  S.  M. 

1  Ibid.,  Sir.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  January  26,   1732 ;   Baudry  des  Lozieres, 
Second  Voyage  a  la  Louisiane,  p.  89. 

Value  of  the  coins  as  stated  in  the  decree: 

Piastre,  equal  to  5  livres,  to  pass  for 100  sols. 

Half  piastre,  equal  to  50  sols,  to  pass  for. .  50  sols. 
"  Double  real,"  equal  to  20  sols,  to  pass  for  25  sols. 

"Real,"  equal  to  10  sols,  to  pass  for .12  sols  6  deniers. 

"  Half  real,"  equal  to  5  sols,  to  pass  for. . .     6  sols  3  deniers. 

"  Quarter  real,"  equal  to  3  sols,  to  pass  for.    3  sols  i  denier  and  a  half. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xix,  fols.  32-33  J  vol.  xxi,  fols.  230-232; 
vol.  xx,  fols.  15-16,  213-215. 


I06  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IO6 

ernor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  requested  the  home  government 
to  issue  a  special  money  for  Louisiana.  The  crown  in  its 
replies,  March  24  and  April  9,  1738,  complained  that  the 
colonial  officials  had  proposed  first  one  and  then  another 
kind  of  money,  but  that  it  seemed  they  preferred  an  issue 
of  silver  because  it  could  not  be  counterfeited  easily.  Since 
the  whole  proposition  was  so  vague  and  indefinite  that  it 
was  impossible  to  determine  just  what  was  desired,  the 
request  was  denied.1 

The  scarcity  of  silver  in  Louisiana  continued  until  about 
1740  when  the  vessels  from  France  on  their  way  thither 
began  to  make  stops  at  the  Spanish-American  colonies, 
where  they  exchanged  merchandise  for  Spanish  silver.  The 
latter  was  carried  to  the  province  and  there  paid  over  for 
colonial  products  and  bills  of  exchange,  thus  assuring  a 
considerable  increase  in  the  silver  in  circulation.2  Although 
the  war  with  England  (1744-1748)  disturbed  this  trade,  it 
brought  about  a  condition  that  made  it  possible  to  augment 
the  supply  of  Spanish  money  in  Louisiana  so  much  that  from 
1745  to  1748  the  expenses  of  the  colony  were  paid  entirely 
in  this  medium.  The  first  year  of  the  war  business  took 
an  official  of  the  French  West  Indies  to  Havana  where  he 
learned  that  a  number  of  French  merchants  there  had 
Spanish  silver  which  they  wished  to  ship  to  France.  This 
could  be  done  directly  only  at  very  great  risk  of  capture  by 
the  English.  The  island  officials  proposed  to  the  merchants 
in  question  that  they  send  their  silver  to  Louisiana  and  there 
exchange  it  for  bills  of  exchange  on  the  French  treasury. 
The  plan  was  adopted  and  carried  out  without  an  appreciable 
increase  in  the  amount  of  bills  of  exchange.  Throughout 
the  period  the  rate  of  exchange  remained  five  livres  for  each 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  bcvi,  fols.  8-10. 
»/&«/.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  in. 


I07]  SILVER  COINS  I07 

piastre.  The  English  believing  Louisiana  of  small  conse- 
quence had  left  it  unguarded.1  During  each  year  of  the  war 
a  million  piastres  found  their  way  to  the  province,  and  in 
1749  a  squadron  of  six  vessels,  carrying  80,000,000  piastres 
brought  from  Havana,  left  for  France.2 

In  1750  the  French  merchants  in  the  West  Indies  were 
able  to  send  their  shipments  of  silver  directly  to  France, 
therefore  the  old-time  scarcity  was  again  felt  in  Louisiana. 
The  next  year  there  was  not  enough  specie  in  the  province 
to  pay  the  troops,31  and  by  1752  practically  all  the  Spanish 
money  in  circulation  at  New  Orleans  was  the  little  that  had 
found  its  way  thither  from  the  settlement  at  Natchitoches.4 
Silver  money  became  rarer  each  year,  and  after  1759  there 
was  virtually  none  of  it  available.5 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fols.  136-147. 

*  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  79;  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc., 
pp.  26-34;  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  xxiii,  pp.  6-8. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  F8,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  18,  1751. 

4  Records  of  the  American  Catholic  Historical  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, vol.  x(  p.  206. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xli,  pp.  318-322;  Pittmaii,  p.  48;  Ker,  The 
Memoirs  of  John  Ker  of  Kersland  in  North   Britain,  Relating  to 
Politicks,  Trade  and  History,  pt.  3,  ii,  19. 


CHAPTER  IX 
COPPER  COINS 

WITH  the  growth  of  the  colony  the  necessity  for  small 
currency  soon  began  to  be  felt,  especially  in  the  settlements 
on  the  Gulf  coast.  To  meet  this  demand  in  some  measure, 
a  royal  edict  was  issued,  in  December,  1716,  providing 
for  the  coinage  of  150,000  marcs  (eight  ounces)  of  copper 
money  in  twelve  and  six  denier  pieces,  to  be  used  ex- 
clusively in  the  American  colonies.  By  a  second  decree, 
March  9,  1717,  authorization  was  given  for  the  new  money 
to  circulate  in  Louisiana.  The  process  of  coinage  was  soon 
stopped,  however,  because  of  the  inferior  quality  of  the 
copper  received  at  the  mints.1 

Nothing  further  was  done  in  the  matter  until  June,  1721, 
when,  by  a  further  edict  the  mints  were  again  ordered  to 
coin  150,000  marc  of  copper  money,  as  follows:  at 
Bordeaux,  30,000;  at  La  Rochelle,  50,000;  at  Nantes,  40,- 
ooo;  and  at  Rouen,  30,000.  The  coins  were  to  be  used 
in  paying  the  troops  and  for  meeting  other  public  expenses. 
They  were  to  circulate  with  the  following  fixed  values: 
those  of  twenty  marcs  to  the  silver  marc,  at  eighteen  deniers : 
those  of  forty,  at  nine  deniers ;  and  those  of  eighty,  at  four 
deniers.  The  colonists  were  assured,  moreover,  that  they 
need  have  no  fear  to  receive  this  money  from  the  troops  or 
other  persons  in  payment  for  the  products  they  had  to  sell, 
since  it  would  be  received  by  the  Company  in  payment  for 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  14273,  fol.  108;  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  B,  vol.  xxxix,  fol, 
341 ;  Zay,  Histoire  Monetaire  des  Colonies  Frangaises,  pp.  48-51 ;  Pro. 
St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xli,  p.  169. 

108  [108 


109]  COPPER  COINS  IOQ 

all  sorts  of  European  merchandise  without  discrimination 
between  it  and  gold  or  silver.1  The  mints  at  Bordeaux  and 
Nantes  struck  no  coins  under  this  edict  and  the  other  two, 
only  the  nine-denier  pieces.  The  coins  issued  at  La  Rochelle, 
1721-1722,  were  marked  by  the  letter  "H",  those  at  Rouen, 
1721,  by  the  letter  "B".2 

Before  the  colonial  copper  had  been  twelve  months  in 
circulation  in  Louisiana  it  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
speculators.  In  September,  1723,  complaints  were  made 
to  the  officials  at  New  Orleans  that  twenty-five  livres  of 
copper  money  was  demanded  for  a  piastre.  Thereupon 
the  authorities  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  fix  the  rate 
of  exchange  for  the  piastres  at  seven  livres,  ten  sols.  The 
officials  went  still  further  and  instituted  a  search  for  the 
men  who  were  carrying  on  the  business  of  speculation.  In 
this,  however,  they  had  no  better  results  than  in  their 
efforts  at  rate-fixing.  Consequently  copper  money  gradu- 
ally fell  into  greater  and  greater  disfavor  until  it  came  to 
be  looked  upon  as  entirely  worthless,  and  no  one  wished  to 
receive  it  in  exchange  for  even  the  most  trifling  article.* 
For  example,  Father  Raphael  de  Luxembourge,  of  New 
Orleans,  September  7,  1723,  declared :  "  there  are  few  offer- 
ings for  masses,  some  (fees  for)  parochial  functions  in 
copper  coin,  which  is  valued  so  low  that  during  our  sickness 
I  sent  everywhere  to  get  a  couple  of  eggs,  offering  as  much 
as  —  sous  apiece,  but  could  not  find  them.  Those  who  sold 
them  replied  that  they  could  do  nothing  with  our  copper, 
and  that  if  we  had  white  money  to  give  them,  they  had 
eggs  to  sell  us  ".* 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Sept.  27,  1721 ;  Sir.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol. 
421 ;  Zay,  pp.  52-53 ;  La  Harpe,  p.  295. 
1  Zay,  p.  54. 

J  A.  N,,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  vii,  fols.  15-17. 
4  Proc.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xli,  p.  172. 


IIO  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IIO 

The  colonial  agents  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies  at  the 
time  informed  the  home  government  that,  if  the  copper  coins 
in  circulation  in  Louisiana  were  made  legal  money  in  France, 
they  would  be  received  in  the  province  at  the  proper  rate  of 
exchange.  The  suggestion,  should  it  be  followed,  would 
entail  only  the  added  expense  of  carrying  the  copper,  with 
other  shipments  of  money,  back  to  the  mother  country.  If 
this  plan  were  not  feasible,  it  was  further  proposed  that  the 
copper  pieces  be  received  at  a  ratio  of  one  to  five  with  silver 
at  the  posts  in  the  interior  where  the  vessels  from  the  prov- 
ince landed,  the  deduction  being  made  in  order  to  put  as 
little  as  possible  of  this  money  into  use  there.  The  Company 
could  well  afford  this  rate  since,  under  the  arrangement 
then  in  force  in  the  province,  it  was  obliged  to  receive  some 
piastres  at  twenty-five  livres  each  in  copper  money,  a  loss  of 
300  livres  on  every  forty  thus  secured  and  sent  to  France. 
Moreover,  the  royal  government  was  informed  that  the  pre- 
vailing system  of  copper  currency  was  most  detrimental  to 
the  development  of  Louisiana,  and  that  even  the  poor  quality 
of  laborers  whom  the  crown  succeeded  in  sending  over  were 
so  dissatisfied  with  their  pay  that  they  were  planning  to  re- 
turn to  France.1 

By  a  decree  of  May  2,  1724,  applicable  both  to  France 
and  to  the  colonial  dominions,  the  copper  coinage  was  made 
to  suffer  a  reduction  in  value.  That  circulating  in  Louis- 
iana was  henceforth  to  have  the  following  values :  coins  of 
eighteen  deniers  to  pass  for  twelve ;  those  of  nine,  for  six ; 
and  those  of  four  and  a  half,  for  three.  Moreover,  the 
colonial  officials  were  given  explicit  orders  for  the  en- 
forcement of  the  decree.2 

As  a  result  of  this  act,  bringing  the  face  value  of  copper 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  vii,  fols.  15-17. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  May  2,  1724;  Zay,  pp.  56-57. 


1 1  j  ]  COPPER  COINS  1 1 1 

nearer  to  its  current  rate,  an  impetus  was  given  to  its  cir- 
culation. On  August  17,  1724,  the  superior  council  of  the 
province  made  a  loan  to  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  10,000 
livres  in  copper  money,  payable  in  six  months  in  different 
kinds  of  lumber.  The  next  day  it  made  a  similar  loan  to 
the  captain  of  the  troops  at  Mobile  for  3,600  livres, 
returnable  in  six  months  in  the  same  medium.1  On 
February  27,'  and  again  on  July  27,  1725,*  it  was  officially 
stated  that  the  copper  money  had  at  no  time  been  refused  in 
payment  for  all  sorts  of  merchandise  at  the  Company's 
storehouses.  At  the  same  time,  nevertheless,  the  Capuchin 
father,  on  the  plea  of  insufficient  knowledge  in  money 
matters,  was  demanding  that  offerings  and  gifts,  as  well  as 
money  for  the  services,  should  be  paid  in  silver.* 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  persons  who  had  con- 
tracted debts  were  being  made  to  meet  their  obligations 
with  Spanish  silver,  the  crown  issued  a  decree,  October  31, 
1726,  ordering  the  copper  coins  to  be  received  at  their  fixed 
value,  without  discrimination  between  them  and  silver,  bills 
of  exchange  or  notes,  in  payment  of  all  debts  whatsoever. 
Persons  violating  this  law  were  to  be  whipped  and  branded 
on  the  hand  by  the  executioner.  The  piastres  were  to  be 
confiscated  and  a  fine  of  3,000  livres  also  was  to  be  imposed, 
one-half  to  be  given  to  the  informer,  the  other  half  to  the 
hospital.5 

No  sooner  was  copper  made  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts 
than  it  began  to  leave  the  colony.  On  April  23,  1727,  there 
was  not  a  sol  of  it  in  the  colonial  treasury,  despite  the  efforts 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  viii.  fol.  126. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fol.  26. 

3  Ibid.,  Ms.  51-52. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  150. 

6  Ibid.,  Sfr.  F»,  vol.  ccxlii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  Oct.  31,  1726. 


H2  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [II2 

of  the  officials  to  prevent  it.  The  pay  of  the  laborers, 
sailors  and  other  men  employed  by  the  Company  was  two 
months  in  arrears.1  Therefore  even  though  the  vessel 
"  Dromadaire "  brought  to  Louisiana,  October  2,  1727, 
13,000  livres  in  copper  money,  the  sum  was  insufficient  to 
meet  immediate  needs.  It  was  officially  stated,  in  fact,  if 
the  coins  had  been  distributed  before  the  departure  of  the 
vessel,  not  a  sol  would  have  remained  in  circulation.  The 
coins  were  kept,  therefore,  and  notes  given  out  instead.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  copper  from  leaving  the  colony,  Gov- 
ernor Perier  and  the  "  ordonnateur  "  asked  the  crown  to 
legalize  the  issuance  of  notes  or  bills  of  exchange  in  favor 
of  any  one  willing  to  leave  in  the  province  the  copper  money 
he  possessed.  For  this  purpose  the  crown  gave  permission 
to  draw  6,000  livres  in  treasury  notes  annually,  stipulating, 
however,  that  the  notes  were  to  be  discounted  at  ten  per  cent 
and  the  "  ordonnateur  "  was  to  make  no  loans  whatsoever 
in  copper.2 

The  metal  still  continued  to  leave  the  province.  On  July 
31,  1728,  there  was  no  copper  left  in  the  colonial  treasury, 
the  drawing  of  the  6,000  livres  allowed  by  the  royal  govern- 
ment being  insufficient  to  hold  it.*  By  October  of  the  same 
year  there  was  almost  no  copper  in  circulation  anywhere  in 
Louisiana,4  and  the  governor  accordingly  requested  the  home 
government,  March  25,  1729,  to  instruct  him  how  it  wished 
him  to  provide  a  medium  of  exchange,  since  under  the 
present  arrangement  it  was  not  possible  to  keep  specie  in  the 
colony.5  There  was  no  reply,  and  nothing  further  was  done 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C«,  vol.  x,  fol.  174. 

1  Ibid.,  fols.  193-194;  vol.  xi,  fols.  86-87. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  54-56. 

*  Ibid.,  fol.  125. 

8  Ibid.,  fols.  322-336. 


!  1 3  ]  COPPER  COINS  1 1 3 

in  the  matter  during  the  rule  of  the  Company  of  the 
Indies.1 

For  a  time  after  Louisiana  became  a  royal  province,  the 
crown  attempted  to  make  use  of  copper  as  a  medium  of 
exchange.  In  order  to  meet  the  deficiency  in  small  coins, 
Governor  Perier  and  the  "  ordonnateur  "  were  allowed  to 
issue  an  ordinance,  January  26,  1732,  giving  to  the  copper 
money  in  circulation  a  value  of  six  deniers.2  On  April  10, 
1735,  Bienville,  who  was  now  governor,  requested  the  home 
government  to  increase  the  amount  by  sending  to  Louisiana 
yearly,  for  three  years,  about  6,000  livres  of  the  copper 
currency  issued  under  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  or  some 
other  having  equivalent  value.  Such  pieces  of  money,  he 
declared,  were  especially  needed  at  the  treasury  where  every- 
one demanded  the  last  denier  due  him,  and  in  commercial 
transactions  where  very  small  amounts  were  purchased.3 
On  October  12,  1735,  there  were  but  eighty  livres  of  copper 
in  the  colonial  treasury,  and  by  February  i8th  of  the  next 
year  the  amount  had  been  reduced  to  twenty-five.4 

The  copper  money  used  by  the  Company  of  the  Indies 
while  in  control  of  Louisiana  was  not  available,  but  the 
home  government  relieved  the  shortage  in  small  currency 
by  ordering,  October  n,  1735,  6,000  livres  in  "sols  mar- 
ques "  to  be  sent  to  the  province.5  The  following  year, 
October  15,  1736,  a  similar  order  was  issued.6  Bienville  at 
once  took  measures  to  retain  the  money  in  circulation.  To 
this  end  he  asked  to  have  its  value  in  Louisiana  increased 
by  one-fifth  of  its  value  in  France,  and  to  have  dispatched 

*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xi,  fol.  125. 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Jan.  26,  1732. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xx,  fols.  16-17,  18-20. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  230-232. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  622. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixiv,  fols.  276-277. 


I !  4  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LO  U I  SI  AN  A  [  j  j  4 

in  1738,  not  less  than  12,000  or  15,000  livres  instead  of  the 
yearly  allowance  of  6,000. 1  Though  French  copper  money 
was  not  afterwards  brought  to  Louisiana  in  large  quantities, 
some  of  it  was  seen  in  circulation  there  as  late  as  1769* 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Sir.  &*,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  5-6. 

2  Museum  Building,  New  Orleans,  No.  40,  Oct.  31,  1769. 


CHAPTER  X 
PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT,  1699-1739 

THE  rapidity  with  which  specie  of  all  kinds  left  Louis- 
iana made  it  necessary  for  the  colonial  officials-  to  resort  to 
various  expedients  in  order  to  retain  it  in  the  province.  To 
this  end  before  1739  a  number  of  forms  of  paper  to  serve  as 
currency  were  made  use  of,  such  as  bills  of  exchange,  treas- 
ury notes,  orders  on  the  treasury,  orders  on  the  storehouse, 
contracts  between  individuals  and  with  the  Company  of  the 
Indies,  royal  notes  and  card  money. 

As  early  as  1703  Iberville  received  furs  from  the  Cana- 
dian traders  and  gave  in  return  bills  of  exchange.1  These 
were  called  a  "  designated  "  or  "  named  "  money  and  were 
negotiable  only  when  indorsed.  As  stated  at  the  time,  a  bill 
of  exchange  was  drawn  to  the  order  of  a  certain  person  with- 
out affording  any  details  as  to  the  nature  of  the  transaction, 
or  indicating  the  kind  of  money  in  which  it  was  to  be  paid. 
Otherwise,  it  was  stated,  much  disorder  in  trade  would  have 
been  caused  through  merchants  being  forced  to  make  public 
the  secrets  of  their  business,  thereby  violating  the  freedom 
and  security  of  commerce.2  At  the  time  of  the  founding 
of  Louisiana,  and  for  some  years  afterward,  bills  of  ex- 
change, in  all  the  French  colonies,  were  drawn  by  the  treas- 
urer general  of  the  particular  province  on  the  treasurer 
general  in  France  and  were  signed  by  the  intendant  or  a 
corresponding  officer. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  O8,  fol.  29;  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  628. 
*  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11342,  fols.  95-102. 

115 


H6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [ZI6 

The  home  government,  on  the  other  hand,  held  that  it 
had  not  pledged  itself  to  pay  such  drafts  without  first  making 
an  examination  of  their  validity.  The  law  of  trade,  "  a  law 
so  dangerous  to  break  ",  it  was  asserted,  furnished  the  crown 
a  "  simple  procedure  "  in  the  matter.  Any  one  who  drew 
bills  of  exchange  might  forge  them  on  the  person  on  whom 
they  were  drawn.  If  the  latter  accepted  them  when  pre- 
sented, the  implication  was  that  he  recognized  the  indebt- 
edness and  obligated  himself  to  pay  them  when  they  fell 
due.  If  he  refused  so  to  do,  naturally  they  were  protested. 
But  in  either  case  the  bills  ought  to  be  paid,  since  in  the 
hands  of  the  holder  of  the  last  endorsement  they  were  cur- 
rent money,  the  circulation  of  which  should  not  be  inter- 
rupted. The  question  then  arose  as  to  how  this  payment 
was  to  be  effected.1  The  payment,  it  was  further  declared, 
was  to  be  made  only  after  the  holder  had  applied  to  the 
last  endorser  for  reimbursement.  He  in  turn  was  to  go 
back  to  the  preceding  signer  who  was  likewise  pledged  to 
redeem  them,  and  thus  by  a  retrograde  movement  the  bills 
could  be  traced  to  their  source,  that  is,  to  the  original 
drawer  who  must  prove  the  crown  to  be  his  debtor.  Such 
was  the  "simple  procedure"  by  which  the  home  govern- 
ment was  to  secure  justice  in  the  payment  of  bills  of  ex- 
change without  thereby  disturbing  trade.  Thus  also  the  offi- 
cials in  France  were  to  be  given  the  legal  means  to  ascertain 
and  destroy  abuses  in  the  drawing  of  such  bills,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  punish  the  offenders.2  By  1720  these  irregu- 
larities had  become  so  excessive  that  the  government  itself 
was  much  embarrassed  and  only  with  great  difficulty  could 
meet  its  indebtedness.  Louisiana,  however,  when  com- 
pared with  other  French  provinces  was  only  a  mild  of- 
fender.2 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11342,  fols.  95-102. 

2  Ibid. 


!  !  7  ]  PA  PER  MONE  Y  AND  CREDIT  !  j  7 

Other  kinds  of  paper  were  early  made  use  of.  One  of 
them  took  the  form  of  orders  on  the  treasury.  On  Febru- 
ary 25,  1708,  for  example,  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana 
were  encountering  much  difficulty  in  securing  domestic  ani- 
mals because  they  could  find  no  one  willing  to  accept  such 
orders  in  payment.1  Another  form  of  paper  that  was  sug- 
gested, June  15,  1715,  but  apparently  not  utilized,  con- 
sisted of  royal  notes  of  fifty  and  one  hundred  livres  to  be 
received  in  payment  for  half  of  every  debt.2  On  March  9, 
1717,  the  home  government  announced  that  a  new  sort 
of  paper  money  would  be  sent  to  New  France,  Martinique 
and  Louisiana  with  an  injunction  that  the  decree  pro- 
viding for  it  should  be  registered  with  the  respective 
superior  councils.  Almost  two  years  later  the  Company 
of  the  Indies,  under  this  ordinance,  was  supplied  with 
25,000,000  livres  in  numbered  bank  notes  bearing  the  cor- 
porate seal,  for  which  a  receipt  was  given,  the  purpose  being 
"  to  enable  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana  to  trade  amongst 
themselves  and  bring  to  France  the  fruits  of  their  labor  ". 
In  order  that  such  notes  should  be  paid  to  no  one  but  him- 
self, the  holder,  on  receipt,  was  to  sign  them,  and  in  case  of 
loss  immediately  to  notify  the  Company.  If  not  recovered 
by  the  end  of  five  years  the  Company  pledged  itself  to  pay 
to  the  holder  the  full  value.3 

Along  with  the  royal  notes  a  local  currency  established 
itself  naturally.  When  a  person  employed  by  the  Company 
required  merchandise  from  the  storehouse,  he  made  a 
memorandum  or  statement  of  the  things  he  desired  and 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  ii,  fols.  89-117. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  860. 

8  La  Revue  Canadienne,  1893,  vol.  xxix,  p.  31 ;  The  Am.  Weekly 
Mercury,  vol.  i,  No.  8,  p.  15,  Feb.  9,  1719;  Anderson,  Hist,  and  Chron. 
Deduct,  of  the  Origin  of  Commerce,  etc.,  vol.  iii,  p.  312;  MacPherson, 
Annals  of  Commerce,  etc.,  vol.  iii,  p.  68. 


Irg  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

presented  it  to  the  local  director  who  deleted  the  articles  that 
seemed  to  him  unnecessary  and  signed  for  the  remainder. 
The  commodities  were  to  be  furnished  on  presentation  of 
the  statement  thus  approved.  The  holder  could  carry  it 
directly  to  the  storehouse  and  have  it  cashed,  or  could  ex- 
change it  for  whatever  he  saw  fit.  In  other  cases,  by  some 
form  of  endorsement,  it  became  negotiable  paper  and  served 
as  currency.  Either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  course  of 
time,  the  order  found  its  way  to  the  storehouse  and  was 
duly  honored.1 

By  the  end  of  1719  the  ratio  of  paper  money  to  silver 
stood  at  five  to  one  or  two.  The  Company  was  in  a  fair 
way  to  be  ruined.  It  was  obliged  to  receive  its  notes  on  a 
par  with  silver,  but  could  not  discharge  its  own  debts  with 
them  unless  the  creditor  saw  fit  to  accept  them.  From  the 
settlers  who  were  not  in  the  colony  when  the  orders  on  the 
storehouse  were  put  into  circulation,  or  from  other  persons 
who  could  not  be  legitimate  possessors,  the  Company  re- 
fused to  receive  them  at  such  a  parity.  Accordingly  to  per- 
sons who  presented  the  orders  in  exchange  for  supplies, 
and  who  could  not  prove  rightful  ownership  of  them,  the 
price  of  merchandise  was  advanced  a  hundred  per  cent.2 
Conditions  were  not  improved  by  this  procedure;  therefore, 
it  was  decided,  October  26,  1721,  to  receive  old  orders  on  the 
storehouse  at  an  advance  of  thirty  per  cent  on  the  face  value. 
Three  months  later  this  was  cut  to  ten  per  cent,  because  it 
was  believed  the  new  rate  would  be  just  to  all  concerned, 
inasmuch  as  merchandise  was  then  cheaper  than  when  the 
original  orders  were  put  into  circulation.3 

An  ordinance  of  May  20,  1722,  decreed  that  no  more 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fols.  126-127;  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
53-57. 

1  A.  Ar.,  C.,  Ser.  O»,  vol.  v,  fol.  353. 
s  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fols.  148-151. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

orders  on  the  storehouse  were  either  to  be  issued  or  received 
by  the  Company.  Instead,  the  first  of  January,  1723,  the  old 
paper  in  circulation  was  to  be  replaced  by  a  species  of  card 
money  having  an  equivalent  value.  This  new  currency  was 
to  be  drawn  by  one  official  but  signed,  registered  and  num- 
bered by  another,  and  was  to  be  received  by  the  storekeeper 
in  payment  for  merchandise  and  then  retired.  Public  em- 
ployees, on  the  other  hand,  were  to  be  paid  by  the  treasurer 
in  copper  money  by  means  of  orders  supplied  by  the  comp- 
troller.1 Despite  this  ordinance,  the  practice  of  drawing 
orders  on  the  storehouse  went  on  much  as  before ;  hence,  on 
August  30,  1722,  a  second  decree  was  issued  prohibiting 
the  practice  absolutely.  Instead,  public  employees  should 
be  paid  in  copper  money  by  means  of  orders  issued  on  the 
colonial  treasury.2 

At  the  interior  post  the  older  forms  of  paper  money  were 
still  in  use,  and  for  a  while  the  Company  continued  to  redeem 
them.3  Eventually,  in  order  to  relieve  the  treasury  of  this 
drain,  an  ordinance  was  issued,  December  4,  1722,  calling 
in  the  outstanding  notes  drawn  on  the  Company  by  the  local 
commandants.  These  notes,  too,  were  to  be  converted  into 
cards.* 

Since  the  several  changes  in  question  had  led  to  specula- 
tion, on  September  6,  1723,  an  ordinance  was  passed  mak- 
ing it  illegal  to  buy  and  sell  the  Company's  notes.  Confis- 
cation and  a  fine  of  3,000  livres  were  to  follow  conviction 
for  the  offense.5  The  paper  in  circulation,  however,  con- 
tinued to  depreciate.  In  the  Illinois  country,  for  example, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  vi,  fols.  422-425. 
1  Ibid. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fols.  16-17;  vol.  viii,  fols.  286-289;  A.,  B.  N.t  Joly  Coll., 
vol.  1726,  fols.  131-132. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Dec.  4,  1722. 
6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fols.  15-16. 


120  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I2o 

it  required  5,000  livres  in  bills  of  exchange  to  buy  a  "quart" 
(16  gallons)  of  brandy.1 

In  the  latter  part  of  1724,  therefore,  the  Company's  offi- 
cials in  France  ordered  the  retirement  of  the  81,243  livres, 
4  sols,  9  deniers  of  cards  issued  under  the  ordinance  of  1722. 
The  instructions  sent  in  this  connection  made  no  mention  of 
other  forms  of  paper  in  circulation,  because  by  the  decree, 
in  theory  at  least,  they  became  valueless  on  January  I, 
1723.  This  omission  brought  protests  from  many  persons 
who  held  older  forms  of  paper,  including  120,000  livres 
in  bills  of  exchange  drawn  by  the  commandant  in 
the  Illinois  country  on  the  local  directors  and  on  Paris 
before  the  date  last-named.  The  reasons  given  to  the  "  or- 
donnateur  "  by  the  holders  for  not  having  converted  the 
paper  into  cards  at  the  proper  time  were  as  follows:  they 
had  had  no  knowledge  of  the  ordinance  before  its  expira- 
tion in  1723;  the  Illinois  country  was  too  far  from  New 
Orleans  for  them  to  make  the  journey  to  the  capital  in  the 
period  allotted ;  it  was  the  general  supposition  that  the  first 
ordinance  was  simply  a  warning,  and  that  no  action  would 
be  taken  until  a  third  had  been  issued.  The  case,  together 
with  these  protests,  was  placed  before  the  superior  council, 
by  which,  May  13,  1725,  it  was  decided  that  all  forms  of 
paper  money  then  in  circulation  should  be  redeemed,  the 
same  reduction  being  observed  as  under  the  decree  of  1722. 
The  comptroller,  thereupon,  was  instructed  to  receive  all 
forms  of  paper  money  presented,  but  to  keep  a  separate 
record  for  each  kind.2  As  late  as  April,  1728,  some  of  this 
old  paper  was  sent  to  New  Orleans  to  be  redeemed.  It 
was  refused  on  the  ground  that  ample  time  for  redemption 
had  been  given  in  I725.8 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vii,  fol.  15. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  fols.  286-289;  vol.  ix,  fols.  110-113,  133. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  46-47. 


I2i]  PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT  I2i 

Tampering  with  the  paper  still  in  circulation  followed; 
it  was  subjected  to  all  sorts  of  alterations  and  some  of  it 
was  forged  outright.  In  order  to  put  an  end  to  these  illegal 
practices,  the  superior  council,  October  n,  1725,  issued  a 
decree  that  forgers  should  be  arrested  and  punished.  Any 
one  caught  altering,  falsifying,  counterfeiting,  scraping  or 
interlining  any  of  the  paper  money  was  to  be  flogged  and 
then  prosecuted  criminally  by  the  attorney  general.1 

Scarcity  of  coin  had  forced  the  use  of  paper  as  a  currency 
and  fraudulent  practices  had  caused  it,  from  1723  to  1726, 
to  stand  at  a  ratio  of  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  livres  with 
silver.2  On  October  27,  1727,  the  colonial  officials  informed 
the  home  government  that  26,800  livres  in  treasury  notes 
(billets  de  la  caisse)  had  been  put  into  circulation  by  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  in  order  to  keep  specie  in  the  treasury,  and 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  draw  bills  of  exchange  for  a  similar 
purpose.  Permission  was  granted  so  to  do  on  condition 
that  the  amount  should  not  exceed  6,000  livres  a  year.3 
This  sum  was  far  too  small.  A  single  merchant  sometimes 
carried  away  as  much.  Indeed  the  "  ordonnateur "  de- 
clared that  20,000  francs  a  year  were  needed  to  keep 
specie  in  the  province.4 

The  shortage  in  bills  of  exchange  and  copper  money 
made  it  necessary  for  the  agents,  in  order  to  meet  the  obli- 
gations of  the  Company,  to  put  into  circulation  50,000 
livres  in  treasury  notes  for  each  of  the  years  1728  and 
1729.  The  paper  was  scarcely  in  circulation  when  it  began 
to  be  falsified  and  soon  1,000  livres  in  fraudulent  notes 
were  abroad.  In  the  former  year  a  treasury  clerk  and  two 
accomplices  were  arrested  on  suspicion.  One  of  the  con- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  II,  1725. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  166-177. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  51-52,  86-87. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  51-62,  125,  329. 


122  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I22 

federates  turned  state's  evidence  and  thereby  escaped  pun- 
ishment; the  other,  because  of  his  extreme  youth,  was  dis- 
missed. The  originator  of  the  fraud  was  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  the  galleys  for  life.  The  whole  of  the  issue 
of  notes  was  retired,  and  in  its  place  others  for  the  same 
denominations  were  given  out.  This  second  emission  was 
signed  by  all  the  members  of  the  council  because  it  was 
believed  the  added  signatures  would  make  them  difficult 
to  forge.1 

From  1729  to  1731  the  Company  sent  merchandise  to 
the  colony  and  managed  through  its  sale  to  retire  a  great 
many  of  the  notes  at  a  reduction  of  fifty  per  cent  on  the  face 
value.  This  action  forced  the  piastres  down  to  ten  or 
twelve  livres.  Consequently  when  on  July  i,  1731,  the 
crown  took  control  of  affairs  in  Louisiana  there  was  not  a 
great  deal  of  the  Company's  paper  in  circulation  there.2 

During  the  last  year  of  its  control  contracts  involving 
the  use  of  notes  for  payment  were  made  by  the  Company, 
and  between  private  individuals,  which  later  gave  rise  to 
litigation.  Circulating  as  money,  these  notes  were  some- 
times offered  at  a  reduction  of  half  their  nominal  value;  in 
other  cases  the  full  face  value  was  demanded.  On  October 
15,  1731,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  issued  jointly 
an  ordinance  to  the  effect  that  the  notes  were  disarranging 
the  values  of  royal  money,  hence  would  be  considered  only  as 
contracts  between  private  individuals  and  were  no  longer  to 
pass  current.  In  order  to  give  some  ease  to  the  holders,  a 
time  limit  of  fifteen  days  was  allowed  for  adjusting  the  mat- 
ter.3 A  similar  ordinance  was  issued,  October  3Oth,  giving 
to  persons  holding  such  notes,  and  residing  at  the  remote 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  51-62,  125,  329. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  166-177. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  15,  1731. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

posts,  an  additional  fifteen  days  for  the  purpose.1  By  May 
15,  1732,  the  notes  still  in  the  colony  had  lost  half  their 
value.2  The  matter  dragged  on  until  September  30,  1733, 
when  it  was  decreed  by  the  superior  council  that  all  paper  of 
the  old  type  should  be  reduced  in  value  by  one-half  and  then 
redeem'ed  in  such  currency  as  the  treasury  saw  fit  to  give. 
This  loss  fell  in  large  measure  upon  the  Company,  which  was 
not  in  a  position  to  protest  since  it  had  paid  its  own  notes  on 
practically  the  same  basis.* 

After  the  retrocession  the  crown  sought  to  place  the 
finances  of  Louisiana  on  a  specie  basis  by  sending  over 
silver  and  merchandise  to  meet  the  yearly  expenses.4  The 
royal  government  next  tried  to  meet  local  obligations  with 
merchandise  alone.5  To  this  end  it  made  several  unsuccess- 
ful attempts  to  ascertain  in  advance  the  approximate  yearly 
expense  for  Louisiana,  but  the  estimate  was  always  too  in- 
accurate to  be  of  any  use  in  devising  plans  in  advance  for 
the  financing  of  the  province.  These  methods  at  all  events 
did  not  keep  the  silver  money  in  circulation,  but  it  did  hold 
the  piastres  at  five  livres.6  The  crown  soon  fell  back  on  the 
use  of  bills  of  exchange  as  a  means  of  retaining  specie  in  the 
province,  and  by  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year,  July,  1732,  46,629 
livres,  16  sols,  5  deniers  had  been  drawn.7 

On  February  16,  1733,  there  was  scarcely  enough  metallic 
currency  in  the  treasury  to  meet  the  government's  obligations 
for  the  ensuing  six  months.  In  order  to  preserve  what 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Sir.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  30,  1731. 
1  Ibid.,  Sfr.  C18,  vol.  xv,  fols.  133-136. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  166-177;  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  654-655. 
4  Supra,  p.  104. 

8  A.  N.f  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  376-378;  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll, 
vol.  1726,  fols.  132. 

6  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fols.  132-133. 
1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  174;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  178-180. 


I24 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


there  was,  orders  were  issued  on  the  local  treasurer  to  the 
amount  of  55,090  livres,  one  sol,  eight  deniers.1  On  May 
12,  1733,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  recommended 
the  employment  of  bills  of  exchange  in  moving  the  tobacco 
crop.2  Accordingly  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year,  in  July,  108,- 
933  livres,  thirteen  sols,  eight  deniers  were  utilized  in  this 
form,  and  the  amounts  due  for  general  expenses  paid  in 
merchandise.3 

So  serious  indeed  was  the  shortage  of  specie  in  Louis- 
iana that  the  crown  deemed  it  advisable,  September  15, 
1733,  to  issue  card  money  for  the  province  similar  to  the 
kind  used  in  New  France.  Unlike  the  old  notes,  the  cards 
were  to  be  received  at  the  royal  storehouse  on  a  par  with 
silver  and  bills  of  exchange,  the  supposition  being  that  the 
new  currency  would  cause  no  increase  in  the  price  of  mer- 
chandise and  other  supplies.4  Before  putting  the  cards  into 
circulation  the  home  government  ordered  the  governor  and 
"  ordonnateur  "  to  ascertain  how  the  money  was  likely  to  be 
received  by  the  people  of  the  province.5 

On  April  3,  1734,  the  colonial  officials  reported  that  they 
had  examined  conditions  in  Louisiana  with  the  greatest 
possible  care,  but  could  discover  nothing  that  would  make 
an  issue  of  cards  dangerous.  Metallic  currency  was  not 
much  needed  at  the  interior  posts  where  everything  was 
purchased  largely  by  means  of  barter.  Practically  all  the 
actual  money  required  in  Louisiana  was  for  the  settlements 
on  or  near  the  coast.  There  a  certain  amount  of  silver  was 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  55-56;  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  108-113; 
A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fols.  132-133. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C*3,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  80-82. 
s  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  178-180. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  lix,  fols.  578-588. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  45-50. 


I25] 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 


needed,  part  of  which  would  come  from  Pensacola  by  way  of 
Mobile.  It  would  be  well,  however,  to  delay  the  issue  two 
or  three  years,  in  order  to  let  time  efface  any  remembrance 
of  the  Company's  paper  which  had  fallen  into  great  discredit, 
and  also  to  allow  some  of  the  settlers  to  become  more  pros- 
perous. But,  if  the  royal  government  were  determined  to 
make  the  issue  at  once,  it  probably  would  be  received  by  the 
people  of  the  province  without  objection.  In  that  case  the 
officials  proposed  that,  in  order  to  accustom  the  settlers 
gradually  to  the  new  money,  the  crown  issue  no  more  than 
300,000  livres,  half  of  which,  together  with  an  equal  amount 
of  silver,  should  be  put  into  circulation  in  1735  and  the  re- 
mainder in  the  following  year.1  To  this  communication  the 
home  government  replied,  August  17,  1734,  stating  that  since 
1729  card  money  had  been  in  use  in  New  France  and  had 
given  the  greatest  satisfaction  there.  Hence  no  doubt  was 
felt  that  a  similar  issue  for  Louisiana  would  produce  a  like 
effect.2 

Meanwhile  the  officials  continued  to  encounter  great  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  specie  in  the  colony.  By  the  close  of  the 
fiscal  year  of  1734  the  "  ordonnateur  "  had  drawn  in  favor 
of  the  merchants  118,476  livres,  sixteen  sols,  ten  deniers  in 
bills  of  exchange  and  had  issued  notes  also  on  the  colonial 
treasury.  Moreover  he  had  drawn  104,410  livres,  eleven 
sols,  four  deniers  in  bills  of  exchange  payable  in  1735,  and 
2,210  livres,  in  I736.3  To  this  amount  were  added  12,349 
livres,  two  sols,  four  deniers  drawn  on  New  Orleans  by 
the  commissary  at  Mobile.*  For  the  two  years  beginning 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xviii,  fols.  45-50. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fol.  696. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xix,  fols.  32-33,  86-87,  104-105,  106-107;  vol.  xxi, 
fols.  245-249. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  151-157. 


I26  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I26 

April  i,  1732,  the  "  ordonnateur  "  had  drawn  in  bills  of 
exchange  361,671  livres,  fourteen  sols,  eight  deniers.1 

Since  the  reception  of  the  communication  from  the  crown 
the  governor  and  "ordonnateur"  had  been  working  to  create 
a  sentiment  in  the  province  in  favor  of  the  card  money.  It 
seemed  that  their  efforts  met  with  some  success,  for  in  a 
dispatch,  April  10,  1735,  they  stated  that  the  people  were 
awaiting  the  introduction  of  the  new  currency  on  the  ar- 
rival of  the  first  vessel.  As  at  this  time  the  piastre  was 
still  valued  at  five  livres,  they  suggested  that  it  be  used  as  a 
unit  of  value  for  the  cards.2 

On  August  29,  1735,  the  royal  government  informed  the 
officials  that  it  had  been  put  to  great  trouble  to  redeem  the 
large  quantities  of  bills  of  exchange  they  had  drawn  and 
ordered  that  in  future  the  amount  be  lessened.  This  com- 
mand seems  not  to  have  been  heeded.3  Before  the  end  of 
the  year  the  amount  of  bills  of  exchange  drawn  was  327,384 
livres,  six  sols,  nine  deniers,  whereupon  the  crown  proceeded 
to  fix  the  yearly  allowance  at  150,000  livres.4 

On  September  14,  1735,  the  home  government  finally  is- 
sued an  ordinance  creating  a  card  money  for  Louisiana  to  the 
amount  of  200,000  livres  in  denominations  of  twenty,  fifteen, 
ten,  five  and  two  livres  ten  sols,  and  in  still  smaller  ones  of 
twenty-five  sols,  twelve  sols  six  deniers,  and  six  sols  three 
deniers  each.  The  money  was  to  bear  the  royal  arms  and  was 
to  be  written  and  signed  by  the  comptroller  in  Louisiana. 
Cards  of  the  first  five  values  were  also  to  bear  the  signa- 
tures of  the  governor  and  the  "  ordonnateur  ",  while  the 
lower  denominations  required  only  the  initials  of  these  offi- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xix,  fols.  32-33. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  16-17;  see  note  15,  p.  105. 
» Ibid.,  Sfr.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  584. 

*  Ibid.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxi.  fols.  245-249,  311-316. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

cers.  In  order  to  detect  counterfeits  when  presented  for  re- 
demption, four  duplicates  were  to  be  made  and  deposited 
with  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  finances  of  the  province; 
three  in  Louisiana  and  one  in  France.  Moreover,  in  order 
not  to  flood  the  colony  with  the  new  issue,  the  crown  de- 
creed that  at  first  only  part  of  it  was  to  be  put  into  circu- 
lation.1 So  much  for  a  project,  the  realization  of  which 
was  to  take  place  some  years  later. 

The  year  1736  opened  with  the  finances  of  the  province 
in  a  bad  condition.  Only  53,074  livres,  sixteen  sols,  three 
deniers  of  the  150,000  allowance  remained  unused;  there 
was  a  debt  of  105,385  livres,  nine  sols,  five  deniers  for  the 
war  against  the  Natchez  and  Chickasaw;  the  foreign  mer- 
chants were  making  heavy  demands  upon  the  colonial 
treasury  for  bills  of  exchange.  To  meet  these  obligations, 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  resorted  to  the  use  of  large  quantities 
of  treasury  notes,  and  drew  on  the  allowance  of  the  current 
year  69,878  livres,  fourteen  sols,  seven  deniers ;  80,122  livres, 
two  sols  on  that  of  1737  and  31,202  livres,  two  sols,  three 
deniers  on  I738.2  On  October  10,  1736,  the  crown  saw  fit  to 
increase  the  amount  of  bills  of  exchange  permitted  for  that 
year  to  230,122  livres,  which  amount  was  to  include 
the  80,122  livres,  two  sols  that  had  been  drawn  in  ad- 
vance on  I737-3  At  the  close  of  the  year  it  was  estimated 
that  there  were  350,000  livres  in  paper  circulating  in  the 
province.4 

The  disorder  in  the  finances  of  Louisiana  grew  gradu- 
ally worse.  In  the  early  part  of  1737  the  merchants 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  A,  vol.  xxii,  fol.  146;  vol.  xxiii,  Sept.  14,  1735;  S6r. 
C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  376-378. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  245-249,  301-302,  319-323 ;  vol.  xxii. 
fols.  268-269. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  134-135,  100-191. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  328-329. 


I2g  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I28 

took  from  the  province  72,891  livres,  six  sols,  eight 
deniers  in  bills  of  exchange,  and  by  June  there  remained 
only  15,058  livres,  twelve  sols,  six  deniers  of  the  allowance 
which  the  "  ordonnateur "  had  reserved  for  current  ex- 
penses. Therefore  he  informed  the  crown  that,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  extraordinary  expense  of  the  war  and  the 
debt  of  42,000  livres  due  merchants  who  would  reach  the 
province  toward  the  end  of  the  year,  he  would  be  able  to 
keep  the  amount  expended  within  the  annual  allowance  of 
150,000  livres.1  Under  existing  circumstances,  however, 
it  was  impossible.  The  ordinary  expenses  for  the  year 
were  156,000  livres  and  the  war  debt  was  42,803  livres,  nine 
sols,  seven  deniers.  It  therefore  became  necessary  to  in- 
crease the  paper  in  circulation  by  150,000  livres,  thus  bring- 
ing the  quantity  at  the  end  of  1737  up  to  500,000  livres.2 

The  crown  refused  to  sanction  an  increase  in  bills  of 
exchange.  Accordingly,  in  1738,  after  deducting  31,202. 
livres,  two  sols,  three  deniers  that  had  been  drawn  in  ad- 
vance, the  "  ordonnateur  "  had  but  118,797  livres  on  hand. 
This  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  the  French  mer- 
chants, to  say  nothing  of  the  obligations  of  the  war  which 
amounted  to  90,000  livres,  not  including  the  supplies  that 
had  been  drawn  from  the  royal  storehouses.3  The  colonial 
officials  were  unable  longer  to  keep  the  paper  in  the  pro- 
vince from  depreciating.  Each  year  since  the  retrocession 
public  expenses  had  increased  without  provision  being 
made  to  meet  them. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  134-135,  190-191. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  108-113. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fol.  216;  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137;  vol.  xxxi,   fols. 
108-113. 


CHAPTER  XI 
PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT,  1739-1763 

EXCEPTING  the  years  1742-1750,  the  period  under  con- 
sideration was  one  in  which  paper  money  was  practically 
the  only  form  of  currency  in  use  in  Louisiana.  During 
these  years  there  were  no  entirely  new  kinds  of  paper  in- 
troduced, yet  the  variations  in  the  forms  and  the  irregu- 
larities and  excesses  in  the  use  of  this  currency  make  the 
period  distinctive. 

At  the  beginning  of  1739  only  45,389  livres,  eleven 
sols,  five  deniers  were  left  of  the  annual  allowance  in 
bills  of  exchange.1  Before  the  end  of  the  year  the  war 
debt  had  risen  to  530,353  livres,  eleven  sols,  three  deniers, 
not  including  the  bills  of  exchange  drawn  by  the  command- 
ants at  I'Assomption.  Moreover  the  demands  of  the  mer- 
chants for  bills  of  exchange  were  increasing.2  The  "  or- 
donnateur  ",  therefore,  found  it  necessary  to  make  use  of 
large  quantities  of  treasury  notes,  200,000  livres  being  in 
circulation  at  the  close  of  the  year;  to  exceed  the  amount 
of  bills  of  exchange  permitted  by  the  crown  by  50,000 
livres  and  also  to  draw  on  the  grant  for  1740,  in  order  to 
meet  current  expenses.3  Under  the  circumstances  the  offi- 
cials were  unable  to  redeem  the  paper  with  either  silver  or 
bills  of  exchange,  and  as  a  result  the  piastre  which  had  been 
equivalent  to  eight  or  nine,  soon  equaled  eighteen  livres  of 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  121-122. 

a  Ibid.,  vol.  xxv,  fol.  136. 

s  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  31-32;  vol.  xxv,  fol.  137. 

129]  129 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

treasury  notes  and  other  paper  currency.1  As  a  remedy, 
the  "  ordonnateur "  proposed  to  the  crown  an  issue  of 
200,000  livres  more  in  cards  for  the  purpose  of  retiring  all 
the  treasury  notes  which  he  was  continually  being  forced 
to  redeem  in  bills  of  exchange.2  The  people  of  the  pro- 
vince, in  fact,  regarded  the  cards  with  so  much  favor  that 
they  had  withdrawn  them  almost  entirely  from  circulation.3 

Each  year  the  finances  of  Louisiana  became  more  and 
more  entangled.  In  1740  the  "ordonnateur"  was  con- 
fronted with  a  war  debt  of  830,137  livres,  fifteen  sols,  ten 
deniers,4  with  no  funds  supplied  by  the  home  government 
to  meet  it.  He  was  forced  to  make  a  generous  use  of 
treasury  notes  and  to  draw  244,236  livres,  sixteen  sols,  one 
denier  in  bills  of  exchange.  At  the  end  of  the  year  there 
were  900,000  livres  in  all  kinds  of  paper  passing  current 
in  the  province.6 

The  finances  in  1741,  therefore,  were  in  even  greater 
confusion  than  in  the  previous  year.  To  make  matters 
worse,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur "  were  not  on 
friendly  terms.  It  was  not  until  the  former  returned  from 
his  last  campaign  against  the  Chickasaw  that  he  learned  of 
"  the  unwise  distribution  of  bills  of  exchange  which  had 
made  it  possible  to  buy  and  sell  them  the  same  as  silver  ". 
For  some  time,  in  fact,  many  of  the  speculators  had  been 
using  their  entire  credit  in  order  to  obtain  bills  of  exchange 
for  the  purpose  of  trafficking  in  them  with  the  merchants 
for  paper  at  an  advance  of  fifty  per  cent  and,  in  two  in- 
stances, sixty  per  cent.  The  abuse  was  followed  by  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  31-32,  133-135. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  31-32;  vol.  xxv,  fols.  9-16. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  9-16. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  108-113. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  350-362;  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  108-113. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

usual  consequences.  Cards  and  treasury  notes  (bons  de  la 
caisse),  equally,  lost  half  their  face  value  and  every  one  in 
the  province,  except  a  few  jobbers  who  were  able  to  estab- 
lish themselves  on  well-equipped  plantations,  was  greatly 
injured  by  the  trade.1 

Foreseeing  this  decline  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  liberal 
use  of  the  treasury  notes,  Count  de  Maurepas,  minister 
of  marine,  declared  it  would  be  wise  to  retire  all  the 
paper  at  once.  He  further  asserted  that  every  increase  in 
the  amount  would  cause  it  only  to  fall  into  still  greater  dis- 
credit. His  suggestion,  however,  was  acted  upon  only  to 
the  extent  of  sending  an  order  to  Louisiana  to  find  out  how 
much  paper  was  actually  in  use.  There  the  colonial  office 
allowed  the  matter  to  rest,  since  the  procuring  of  informa- 
tion on  this  point  was  next  to  impossible  owing  to  the  ir- 
regularity in  the  way  the  currency  had  been  issued  at  the 
interior  posts.  On  his  own  account,  however,  and  without 
waiting  for  orders  from  the  crown,  the  "  ordonnateur  ", 
May  15,  1741,  issued  an  ordinance  calling  in  all  notes 
which,  on  penalty  of  invalidation  for  non-compliance,  were 
to  be  signed  and  registered  at  his  office.  Through  neglect 
of  enforcement  or  other  reasons  the  ordinance  did  not 
bring  in  the  paper  or  remedy  the  financial  distress.3 

This  decline  in  the  value  of  paper  caused  a  demand  to  be 
made  by  the  colonial  officials  for  bills  of  exchange  on 
France  in  payment  of  their  services,  they  being  unable  to 
live  on  their  salaries  if  paid  in  any  other  way.3  On  Oc- 
tober 13,  1741  the  crown  informed  Salmon  his  letter  was 
most  unsatisfactory.  His  silence  on  some  points  concern- 
ing the  finances  it  disapproved;  in  other  cases  the  action 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O»,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  61-65. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  334-340;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxlii,  M.  S.  S.  M., 
April  30,  1744. 
» Ibid.,  Str.  C*3,  vol.  xxvi.  fol.  182. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [132 

he  had  taken  it  strongly  condemned.  The  home  govern- 
ment had  been  informed  that  the  great  quantities  of  paper 
money  issued  thus  far  caused  a  depreciation  in  value.  It 
commanded  the  "  ordonnateur  ",  therefore,  to  ascertain  the 
amount  outstanding,  to  call  in  the  paper  and  redeem  it  with 
bills  of  exchange.  It  further  ordered  him  when  distribut- 
ing such  bills,  always  to  give  preference  to  the  merchants 
from  France.1 

Before  receiving  this  communication  from  the  crown, 
Salmon  had  drawn  176,682  livres,  eight  sols  in  advance  on 
the  year's  allowance  of  bills  of  exchange,  which  had  been 
raised  to  200,000  livres  annually.  The  home  government 
gave  him  permission  to  draw  60,000  livres  more,  which  sum 
he  exceeded  by  1,245  livres,  nineteen  sols,  six  deniers, 
bringing  the  total  for  the  year  to  237,928  livres,  seven  sols, 
six  deniers.  In  addition  to  this  amount  he  drew  119,112 
livres,  ten  sols,  six  deniers  on  the  allowance  for  1742.  This 
last  act  greatly  disturbed  the  French  government,  because 
it  was  unable  to  determine  how  it  could  meet  its  bills  in  the 
following  May.2 

By  1742  the  officials  and  men  who  were  living  on  salaries 
or  wages  paid  in  colonial  paper  were  almost  destitute.  They 
could  not  buy  themselves  shoes  and  other  necessities.  The 
money  received  was  scarcely  enough  to  enable  them  to  pay 
even  their  laundry  bills.  The  European  traders,  moreover, 
made  so  great  a  distinction  between  colonial  paper  and  pias- 
tres that  there  were  few  persons  in  the  province  with 
means  sufficient  to  engage  in  the  Spanish  trade,  which  was 
in  a  fair  way  to  be  ruined.  In  fact  the  merchants  would 
receive  only  silver  or  bills  of  exchange  for  their  goods.  As 
a  means  of  relieving  the  situation,  therefore,  the  governor 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  Louisiane,  vol.  Ixxiii,  fol.  309. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixxii,  fols.  30-31. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

asked  the  crown  to  pay  half  of  the  salaries  or  wages  of 
employees  in  bills  of  exchange.  This  plan,  he  claimed, 
would  have  two  beneficial  results.  In  the  first  place,  it 
would  improve  the  condition  of  men  who  had  nothing  to 
sell  and  every  thing  to  buy;  secondly,  it  would  prevent  the 
constant  increase  in  the  number  of  treasury  notes  which 
led  to  a  proportionate  depreciation  in  all  forms  of  paper.1 
The  crown  seems  to  have  taken  no  action  in  the  matter, 
hence  the  amount  in  bills  of  exchange  drawn,  though  be- 
yond the  limit  of  200,000  livres  which  the  home  govern- 
ment had  instructed  Salmon  under  no  circumstances  to  ex- 
ceed, was  236,620  livres, — only  a  little  less  than  the  amount 
for  the  previous  year.2 

The  depreciation  of  paper  money  that  had  begun  some- 
what gradually  in  1730  went  on  more  rapidly  later,  and  in 
1743  silver  and  bills  of  exchange  stood  at  a  ratio  of  two 
to  five  and  even  in  some  instances  reached  three  to  one  in 
terms  of  paper.3  The  ordinance  of  May  15,  1741,  failed  in 
its  purpose;  a  second  was  issued  January  15,  1743,  giving 
the  settlers  a  month  in  which  to  bring  to  the  capital  their 
treasury  notes  in  order  to  have  them  converted  into  new 
money.  Failure  to  present  them  in  time  made  them  value- 
less. This  ordinance  seems  to  have  been  better  enforced. 
It  is  stated  by  the  colonial  officials  that  in  a  short  time  the 
greater  part  of  454,620  livres  then  outstanding  had  been 
turned  in  and  converted  into  "  bons  de  la  caisse  ",  thereby 
fulfilling  the  object  of  the  law.4 

Some  persons  in  the  colony  and  others  in  the  mother 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  48-49,  127-128. 

J  Ibid.,  fols.  190-191. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  334-340;  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  151-158;  Ser.  B, 
vol.  Ixxviii,  fol.  40;  Ser.  Fz,  vol.  cclxii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  April,  30,  1744. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  cclxii,  M.  'S.  S.  M.,  April  30,  1744;  Ser.  C13,  vol. 
xxviii,  fols.  334-340;  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  106-113;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxviii,  fol. 
47. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

country  asserted  that  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  financial 
disorder  in  Louisiana  was  the  maladministration  of  Sal- 
mon, the  "  ordonnatetir ",  who  was  accordingly  recalled 
and  Normant,  a  man  who  had  rendered  intelligent,  accurate 
and  valuable  service  at  Cape  Frangais,  was  named  as  his 
successor.1  The  charges  against  Salmon  were  at  once  in- 
vestigated by  the  governor  who  sent  a  report  to  the  crown 
stating  that  the  accusations  were  not  borne  out  by  the  evi- 
dence presented.  In  fact  he  could  not  find  the  slightest 
ground  for  any  of  the  charges  adduced,  and  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  no  one  under  the  same  circumstances  could 
have  managed  the  finances  better  or  more  profitably  than 
Salmon  had  done.2  Moreover,  this  opinion  is  reinforced 
by  the  fact  that  the  new  "  ordonnateur  ",  in  his  communi- 
cation to  the  royal  government  on  the  finances  of  the  pro- 
vince at  the  time  he  entered  office,  criticised  few  of  the 
methods  employed  by  his  predecessor.  Instead,  he  traced 
the  chief  causes  for  the  disorder  to  the  fact  that  the  crown 
since  the  retrocession  had  annually  supplied  inadequate 
funds  to  meet  the  colonial  expenses,  and  to  the  method  in 
which  European  merchants  carried  on  trade  in  the  pro- 
vince.8 

Normant  entered  upon  his  duties  in  October,  1744.  He 
found  1,050,000  livres  of  paper  money  in  circulation  made 
up  as  follows :  454,620  livres  in  "bons  de  la  caisse",  issued  in 
1743  to  retire  the  existing  treasury  notes;  200,000  livres  in 
cards;  395,380  livres  in  "simples  recepisses  ",  and  orders 
on  the  treasury  (ordonnances).  The  "ordonnateur" 
began  his  administration  of  the  finances  of  Louisiana  by 
collecting  royal  debts  and  using  the  money  thus  secured  in 

1  A.  N.,  C.f  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxviii,  foL  333- 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  27-31;  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  108-113. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  no;  vol.  xxix,  fols.  184-186. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

redeeming  the  "  simples  recepisses "  and  orders  on  the 
treasury.  By  the  close  of  the  year  the  paper  in  circulation 
had  been  reduced  to  847,435  livres,  twelve  sols,  six  deniers.1 

Experimenting  with  these  forms  of  currency  having 
brought  no  relief,  there  was  general  agreement  in  favor  of 
their  retirement.  There  was,  however,  no  such  unanimity 
of  opinion  as  to  the  method  of  withdrawal.  The  gov- 
ernor and  "  ordonnateur "  proposed  the  sending  to  the 
colony  of  merchandise  or  cargoes  of  negroes  to  be  ex- 
changed for  paper  at  a  fixed  ratio  with  silver.  Currency 
thus  drawn  into  the  hands  of  the  home  government  could 
be  readily  retired.  The  suggestion  was  rejected  because 
its  fulfillment  was  considered  too  slow  in  accomplishing  the 
results  desired,  and  also  because  a  large  part  of  the  paper 
was  in  the  hands  of  speculators  and  traders  who  would  get 
the  merchandise  or  negroes  and  sell  them  to  the  settlers  at 
such  high  prices  as  to  injure  rather  than  benefit  the  colony.2 

Another  point  under  discussion  at  the  time  was  whether 
all  forms  of  paper  should  be  retired  on  the  same  basis. 
Since  cards  had  always  been  preferred  to  other  kinds  of 
colonial  currency,  some  were  inclined  to  give  them  an  ad- 
vantage in  the  rate  of  exchange,  at  least  over  the  treasury 
notes  which  had  contributed  most  to  the  course  of  depre- 
ciation. This  method  of  adjustment  received  small  sup- 
port because  it  would  create  a  new  zest  for  speculation,  and 
thus  would  be  lucrative  only  to  the  persons  who  had  been 
so  instrumental  in  discrediting  paper  money.  As  far  as 
the  crown  was  concerned,  one  kind  of  colonial  paper  was 

1  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser,  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  334-340;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxviii, 
fols.  46-47.  According  to  another  of  the  " ordonnateur's "  reports: 
455,000  livres,  "  bons  de  la  caisse";  167,799  livres  in  old  paper  of  the 
Company  of  the  Indies,  1 10,000  in  "simples  recepisses";  200,000  livres 
in  cards,  total  932,799  livres. 

1  Ibid,,  Ser,  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  334-340. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

as  good  as  another,  and  from  its  point  of  view  all  deserved 
the  same  treatment.  It  was  thereupon  decided  to  fix  the 
ratio  of  withdrawal  at  five  to  two,  the  degree  of  deprecia- 
tion in  terms  of  silver  in  August,  1743.  The  retirement  was 
to  be  effected  by  means  of  silver  and  bills  of  exchange,  part 
in  1745  and  the  remainder  in  1746.*  In  compliance  with 
the  royal  command  the  "  ordonnateur  "  proceeded  to  call 
in  the  paper  money,  then  verify,  check  and  burn  it.  By 
October  24,  1745,  838,148  livres,  eight  sols,  nine  deniers 
of  the  sort  had  been  canceled.2 

This  done,  it  at  once  became  necessary  to  determine  the 
nature  and  form  of  a  new  issue.  The  "  ordonnateur  "  was 
opposed  to  paper  currency  of  any  kind.  It  was  impossible, 
he  declared,  for  him  or  the  governor  to  limit  the  amount 
drawn  on  the  colonial  treasury  by  the  post  commandants 
whose  bills  were  not  received  for  a  year  or  eighteen  months 
after  their  date.  Moreover  he  could  not  know  in  advance 
how  much  would  be  needed  for  Indian  affairs.  The  great 
distance  between  the  mother  country  and  the  province  often 
delayed  the  royal  ships  and  made  it  necessary  for  him  to 
buy  supplies  at  the  private  shops  where  he  was  obliged  to 
pay  high  prices.  Then,  too,  when  these  vessels  reached  the 
colony  in  considerable  numbers  it  was  often  impossible  for 
him  to  dispose  of  the  merchandise  advantageously.  It  was 
consequently  out  of  the  question  to  estimate  even  approxi- 
mately the  amount  of  paper  money  required  for  the  fiscal 
year,  and  the  bills  of  exchange  needed  to  redeem  it.  This 
state  of  affairs  made  the  paper  subject  to  depreciation 
and  led  to  a  complete  disarrangement  of  the  local  finances. 
Even  a  small  depreciation  was  dangerous,  since  there  was 
a  strong  tendency  among  the  people  of  the  province  to  en- 

*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  334-34O. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  184-186;  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  IIO-MI. 


137]  PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

gage  in  speculation  with  anything  susceptible  of  it.  In 
fact  the  "  ordonnateur  "  claimed  it  was  the  only  occupa- 
tion to  which  the  inhabitants  were  really  attached.  Nor- 
mant  admitted  that  a  card  money  would  give  temporary 
relief,  which  might  last  perhaps  a  year,  but  asserted  that 
this  advantage  would  in  no  way  counteract  the  trouble  that 
would  be  caused  by  attempting  to  maintain  it  longer.  He 
proposed  instead :  first,  the  use  of  Spanish  money,  assigning 
it  a  value  greater  than  its  intrinsic  worth  in  order  to  keep 
it  in  circulation  in  the  province;  secondly,  the  making  of 
the  prices  of  colonial  products  so  attractive  that  the  people 
would  be  induced  to  take  up  substantial  local  industries 
and  thereby  raise  products  that  could  be  exchanged  for  for- 
eign goods,  thus  eliminating  the  need  of  other  forms  for 
foreign  trade.1 

By  this  time  it  seems  to  have  been  demonstrated  that 
silver,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  could  not  be  kept  in 
the  province.  The  experience  of  New  France  with  card 
money,  on  the  other  hand,  indicated  that  there  was  no  better 
form  of  currency  available  for  Louisiana,  even  if  its  issue 
might  bring  on  a  repetition  of  the  old  troubles.  Those  who 
upheld  this  viewpoint  argued  that  the  cards  formerly  in  use 
had  maintained  their  value  for  two  years  and  had  lost 
credit  only  on  account  of  the  extraordinary  expense  of  the 
war  then  in  existence,  and  the  action  of  the  "  ordonna- 
teur "  in  giving  preference  over  them  to  the  treasury  notes. 
Therefore  it  was  asserted  that,  with  merchandise  in  the 
royal  storehouses  and  bills  of  exchange  drawn  on  the 
treasury  of  France  as  security,  card  money  would  put  the 
finances  of  the  provinces  on  a  substantial  basis.2  The  opin- 
ion at  all  events  won  the  approval  of  the  home  government, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  112-113;  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  376-378. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  112,  113;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxviii,  fols.  40,  42-51. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

which,  April  30,  1744,  ordered  a  card  money  to  be  issued 
for  Louisiana  on  the  five  to  two  basis,  and  put  into  circula- 
tion two  months  from  the  day  that  the  decree  should  be 
made  public  there.1 

Because  of  a  change  in  the  situation  in  the  French  West 
Indies,2  and  the  continuance  of  the  war,  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  take  no  action  in  the  matter  as  yet.  Silver  in 
considerable  amounts  was  brought  to  the  colony  causing 
some  difficulty  in  the  drawing  of  bills  of  exchange.  In 
order  to  insure  a  safe  arrival,  much  against  his  better  judg- 
ment, Normant  was  forced  to  make  as  many  as  five  separate 
issues  of  the  same  bills  of  exchange,  sent  by  different 
routes,  via  Havana,  Canada,  etc.,  to  France.3 

In  1746  the  entire  allowance  of  200,000  livres  was  used 
up  in  return  for  Spanish  silver  expended  on  strengthening 
the  fortifications  at  the  "  English  Turn  "  and  at  Mobile.4 
On  December  9,  1748,  the  colonial  officials  informed  the 
home  government  that  they  had  to  meet  local  expenses  by 
means  of  bills  of  exchange  and  a  small  amount  of  silver 
obtained  from  sales  of  merchandise  from  the  royal  ware- 
houses.6 

The  new  "ordonnateur",  Michel  de  la  Rouvilliere  was  con- 
vinced very  soon  after  entering  office  that  there  was  an  abso- 
lute need  for  more  money.  Without  consulting  Governor 
Vaudreuil,  he  drew  up  an  ordinance  on  the  subject  and  pre- 
sented it  to  that  officer  for  his  signature.  Because  of  the 
irregularity  of  this  procedure,  and  because  of  his  doubt  as 
to  its  legality,  the  governor  hesitated  to  attach  his  name, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B.  vol.  Ixxviii,  fols.  42-51. 

2  Supra,  p.  106. 

»  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  184-186. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  139. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxvii,  fols.  30-31. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

whereupon  the  "  ordonnateur  "  informed  him,  that  if  he 
refused  to  sign,  the  issue  would  be  made  without  his  ap- 
proval. On  further  reflection  the  governor  signed  the  ordi- 
nance, believing  that  since  there  would  be  an  issue  anyhow, 
the  joint  sanction  of  governor  and  "ordonnateur"  would  give 
the  people  greater  confidence  in  the  paper  money  provided 
for,  and  make  its  circulation  more  acceptable.  The  notes  were 
to  be  drawn  in  denominations  of  from  twenty-five  sols  to 
thirty  livres;  larger  values,  if  needed,  were  to  be  numbered, 
registered,  signed  and  placed  in  the  colonial  treasury  to  be 
there  used  in  paying  public  expenses.  The  ordinance; 
without  stating  the  amount  to  be  issued,  went  into  effect 
February  i,  1750,  along  with  an  assurance  from  the  "  or- 
donnateur "  that  there  need  be  no  fear  to  accept  the  new 
money  in  payment  for  all  debts.  About  108,000  livres 
were  put  into  circulation  at  this  time,  which  amount  was 
soon  so  considerably  augmented  as  to  create  public  uneasi- 
ness. The  "  ordonnateur ",  however,  assured  the  gov- 
ernor that  there  was  no  cause  for  anxiety  but  gave  him  no 
information  regarding  his  confidence,  nor  did  he  explain  the 
increase  in  the  quantity  of  notes.1 

On  October  23,  the  home  government  reprimanded  the 
governor  and  "  ordonnateur "  for  their  action  in  the 
matter,  since  no  one  but  the  crown,  the  commanders  of 
besieged  cities  or  blockaded  colonies  during  times  of  actual 
investment  had  the  right  to  issue  money.  Creating  or 
altering  the  money  of  the  kingdom,  it  declared,  was  a  sov- 
ereign right  to  be  shared  with  no  one.  Therefore,  the  "  or- 
donnateur "  had  exceeded  his  power  and  had  broken  a 
most  important  law  for  which  act  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est justification.  If  the  treasury  was  without  money,  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  could  have  recourse  to  bills  of  exchange 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  259-260;  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  99-101. 


I4o  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I4O 

and  the  sale  of  merchandise  from  the  royal  storehouses. 
For  the  last  two  years  the  records  of  receipts  had  shown 
large  quantities  of  supplies  there.  The  home  government 
stated  further  that  there  were  still  other  expedients  that 
might  have  been  tried.  Even  if  there  were  none,  the  col- 
onial situation  did  not  warrant  Michel  in  adopting  the 
course  he  had  followed,  especially  since  the  province  was 
only  just  recovering  from  the  disorders  occasioned  by  an 
excessive  amount  of  paper.  The  "  ordonnateur  ",  there- 
upon was  ordered  to  withdraw,  by  means  of  bills  of  ex- 
change on  the  allowance  for  succeeding  years,  all  the  notes 
he  had  put  into  circulation.  It  was  further  stated  that  the 
shortage  in  the  silver  drawn  from  the  Spanish  trade  could 
be  made  up  either  by  sending  over  French  money,  by  a 
new  issue  of  cards  or  by  some  other  method  not  yet  under- 
taken.1 

Before  it  was  possible  to  make  the  ordered  retirement, 
counterfeits  began  to  be  found  in  circulation.  Public  un- 
easiness through  distrust  in  the  paper  was  thereby  greatly 
augmented.2  In  order  to  increase  public  confidence  in  the 
paper  money,  some  effort  was  made  to  bring  the  counter- 
feiters to  justice.  Too  many  important  personages,  how- 
ever, were  implicated  in  the  transaction.  The  prosecution 
ended  disgracefully  in  the  trial  and  conviction  of  but  one 
culprit,  a  mulatto  slave  belonging  to  the  crown.  The  negro 
was  whipped,  branded  on  the  hand  with  the  Heur-de-lis  and 
sold  into  slavery  in  St.  Domingue.3 

The  "  ordonnateur  ",  January  30,  1752,  sent  to  the  royal 
government  a  report  of  the  finances  during  his  term  of 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xci,  fol.  31. 

1  Ibid.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  99-101 ;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S. 
M.,  May  18,  1751. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  205 ;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S.  M., 
May  18,  1751. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 


141 


office.  It  is  evident  from  this  statement  that  the  Spanish 
trade  still  made  it  necessary  each  year  to  draw  large  sums 
in  bills  of  exchange.  In  1749,  the  amount  was  453,408 
livres,  nine  deniers;  in  1750,  550,000  livres;  in  1751,  700,- 
ooo  livres;  and  in  1752,  but  535,000  livres.  The  sum  for 
1752  indicates  a  recovery  from  the  conditions  in  the  Span- 
ish trade  brought  on  by  the  war  (1744-1748),  and  the  whole 
statement  brings  out  the  further  fact  that  during  these 
years  the  home  government  had  made  much  more  liberal 
provision  for  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  province.  The 
200,000  limit  of  bills  of  exchange  was  disregarded  and 
during  the  years  in  question  the  provision  in  money  made 
exceeded  the  amount  of  bills  of  exchange  used  by  the  col- 
onial officials.  Therefore  in  1752  there  remained  532,023 
livres,  nine  sols,  eleven  deniers  in  unused  funds,  which 
shows  that  for  these  years  there  was  no  need  of  an  issue 
of  paper  money.1 

This  same  year  Michel  was  recalled  and  his  place  taken 
by  d'Auberville  as  "  ordonnateur  ".  Governor  Vaudreuil 
was  transferred  to  New  France  and  Kerlerec  sent  over  in 
his  stead.  Nevertheless  Michel's  example  in  issuing  notes 
redeemable  with  bills  of  exchange  was  followed  by  all  his 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  299,  243. 


"  Fonds  ordonnes  et  £        " 
ordonner  " 

Fonds  remis  a  la  colonie 
les  lettres  de  change  " 

"  Fonds  remis  a  la 
colonie  par  les 
proces  ver- 

baux" 

Year 

Livres 

Sols 

Den. 

Livres 

Sols    Den. 

Livres 

Sols 

Den 

I749-- 

529,537 

»9 

II 

453.408 

9 

62,137 

6 

.. 

1750.. 

601,264 

3 

6 

550,000 

.. 

19,481 

i 

i 

I75I-- 

889,957 

16 

.. 

790,000 

.. 

7,268 

i 

8 

1752.. 

928,567 

•• 

••• 

53-5,000 

.. 



•• 

•• 

2,949,326     19  5      2,328,408       ..        9 

Unused  funds — 532,023  livres,  9  sols,  n  deniers. 


88,886        8 


I42  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I42 

successors.1  The  war  begun  with  England  in  1756  made 
the  risk  of  sending  silver  to  the  province  too  great ;  accord- 
ingly the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur "  were  instructed 
to  issue  certain  special  notes,  also  called  "  bons  ",  and  de- 
riving their  name,  it  was  said,  from  the  first  word  of  the 
inscription.  Drawn  on  the  colonial  treasury  in  denomina- 
tions ranging  from  ten  sols  to  100  livres,  they  were  to  be 
payable  in  three  months  and  redeemable  at  New  Orleans 
in  bills  of  exchange  on  France  if  presented  to  the  amounts 
of  300  or  400  livres  at  a  time.  During  the  progress  of  the 
war,  also,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  gave  the  com- 
mandants at  the  interior  posts  the  power  to  issue  similar 
"  bons  "  for  provisions,  public  works  and  Indian  affairs. 
These  debts,  contracted  with  merchants  and  settlers  by  the 
officials,  grew  to  enormous  sums  and  the  abuses  accom- 
panying the  privilege  rendered  the  expense  excessive.2  For 
the  years  in  which  the  annual  outlay  exceeded  the  amount 
in  bills  of  exchange,  treasury  notes,  instead  of  being  re- 
deemed in  the  regular  manner,  were  exchanged  for  "bons" 
payable  in  colonial  currency  twelve  months  after  date, — an 
arrangement  termed  "  making  the  reduction  ",3 

In  order  to  expedite  matters,  the  officials  of  Louisiana  oc- 
casionally drew  bills  of  exchange  on  the  treasury  of  other 
French  colonies.  In  1755,  for  example,  the  "ordonnateur" 
took  such  action  in  the  case  of  Cape  Frangais,  sending  re- 
ceipts of  the  bills  to  the  home  government,  so  that  it  might 
make  no  mistake  in  effecting  payment.4 

In  1754,  both  card  money  and  notes  were  redeemable  on 
equal  terms  by  means  of  bills  of  exchange  payable  in  part 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  201-205. 

'  Ibid.;  Pittman,  pp.  46-47. 

»  Trans.  Lit.  and  Hist.  Soc.  of  Quebec,  1871-1877,  p.  101. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxix,  fols.  76-77. 


143]  PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

during  1754,  1755  and  1756,  of  which  800,000  livres  were 
drawn  in  the  year  first  named.  The  "  ordonnateurs  "  from 
1752  to  1758,  in  fact,  contributed  nothing  novel  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  colonial  finances.  Large  quantities  of 
paper  money  of  one  sort  or  another  continued  to  be  put  into 
circulation.1 

Rochemore,  the  new  "  ordonnateur  ",  on  reaching  New 
Orleans,  August  17,  1758,  reported  to  the  home  govern- 
ment that  he  found  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  comptroller, 
no  records  for  that  office  to  give  him  any  information  con- 
cerning the  department,  and  the  work  being  carried  on  by 
various  persons  at  different  places  without  any  one  being 
directly  in  charge.  The  treasury  he  found  without  specie, 
more  than  1,800,000  livres  in  paper  money  outstanding, 
and  1,401,800  livres,  eight  sols,  nine  deniers  in  bills  of 
exchange  drawn  on  the  allowance  for  future  years.  As 
the  royal  storehouses  were  entirely  empty,  he  was  obliged 
to  buy  at  the  local  shops  at  high  prices.2  Accordingly  he 
thought  it  advisable  to  call  in  all  paper  in  circulation  and 
make  a  new  emission,  similar  in  form  but  signed  by  him- 
self, in  order,  as  he  stated,  to  distinguish  his  administration 
from  that  of  his  predecessor.  The  withdrawal  and  replace- 
ment were  effected  on  December  13,  by  means  of  bills  of 
exchange  to  the  amount  of  1,469,848  livres,  seventeen  sols, 
eight  deniers,  drawn  on  the  allowance  for  1758,  and  also 
of  525,151  livres,  two  sols,  four  deniers  on  that  for  1759, 
or  altogether  1,995,000  livres.3  For  the  process  of  recall 
only  eight  days  were  allowed,  a  requirement  that  caused 
great  inconvenience  and  much  discontent.  Everything, 
furthermore,  was  done  without  the  advice  or  even  the 

1A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  265;  Trans,  Lit.  and  Hist.  Soc. 
of  Quebec,  1871-1877,  p.  101. 
»  A.  N.,  €.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xl,  fols.  181-182. 
8  Ibid.,  fol.  215. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

knowledge  of  the  governor,  who  first  learned  of  the  trans- 
action when  he  read  the  notice  to  the  people  on  the  public 
bulletin  board.1 

On  January  2,  1759,  Rochemore  sent  to  the  home  gov- 
ernment his  plans  for  the  adjustment  of  the  colonial 
finances.  In  his  opinion  it  would  be  wise,  for  the  present 
at  least,  possibly  also  for  the  future,  to  establish  a  card 
money,  similar  to  the  one  of  1744,  with  the  emission,  how- 
ever, being  made  entirely  in  France.  Such  a  money,  he 
affirmed,  would  put  confidence  in  colonial  paper  and  thereby 
reduce  the  price  of  all  sorts  of  commodities;  provided  that 
treasury  notes,  signed  and  issued  by  the  "  ordonnateur  " 
were  prohibited,  except  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity.  For  the 
knowledge  of  the  crown,  should  it  act  upon  his  suggestion, 
Rochemore  estimated  the  value  of  the  card  money  needed 
for  current  expenses  at  7,000,000  or  8,000,000  livres,  200,- 
ooo  livres  of  which,  he  stated,  should  be  in  small  denomi- 
nations for  use  in  local  transactions.  Before  this  commu- 
nication reached  the  home  government  it  had  learned  of 
the  work  of  the  "  ordonnateur  "  during  his  first  months  of 
incumbency,  and  therefore,  made  no  reply  to  the  proposal.2 

On  the  other  hand,  the  crown,  January  19,  1759,  dis- 
patched to  the  "  ordonnateur "  a  severe  reprimand  for 
the  unauthorized  emission  of  paper  money  of  the  pre- 
vious year.  He  had  violated  the  instructions  given  him 
on  leaving  France.  To  have  introduced  a  new  money 
into  Louisiana  was  declared  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  law 
that  made  such  an  act  exclusively  a  royal  privilege.  Not 
to  have  consulted  the  governor  in  the  matter  was  con- 
demned, and  the  whole  affair  pronounced  a  blunder  that  in 
no  way  could  be  excused.  He  was  then  ordered  at  once  to 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xli,  fols.  75-76. 
*  Ibid.,  fol.  154. 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

call  in  all  of  the  paper  in  question  and  redeem  it  by  means 
of  bills  of  exchange.  In  future  he  was  to  furnish  the  gov- 
ernor a  report  on  the  conditions  of  the  finances  semi-annu- 
ally,  oftener  if  the  latter  requested  it.  Furthermore  he 
was  to  make  his  superior  a  quarterly  report  on  the  bills  of 
exchange  drawn  on  the  French  treasury.1 

On  February  25,  and  again  on  June  25,  1759,  the  gov- 
ernor informed  the  crown  that  the  finances  of  Louisiana 
were  in  a  deplorable  state.  On  the  latter  date  he  asserted 
it  was  positively  known  that,  of  the  1,995,000  livres  in  bills 
of  exchange  drawn  the  previous  year,  not  more  than  200,- 
ooo  livres  were  issued  in  the  regular  way.  Instead  they 
were  sold  at  an  advance  of  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  per  cent 
to  the  merchants  who  made  up  the  premium  by  a  propor- 
tional increase  on  the  selling  price  of  their  goods.  More- 
over it  was  affirmed  that  the  treasurer,  who  was  also 
in  control  of  munitions,  had  permitted  supplies  to  the 
amount  of  200,000  livres  to  be  taken  from  the  storehouses 
in  order  to  provision  royal  ships.  He  then  drew  on  the 
French  treasury  a  bill  of  exchange  for  an  equal  amount, 
thus  making  the  merchandise  cost  the  crown  400,000 
livres.  The  bill  of  exchange  he  sold  to  the  jobbers  at  the 
above-named  profit.  In  order  to  keep  himself  better  in- 
formed and  if  possible  to  prevent  such  practices  as  enumer- 
ated above,  the  governor  proposed  to  provide  the  treasury 
with  a  safe  in  which  the  records  and  cash  were  to  be  kept. 
The  safe  was  to  be  provided  with  a  lock  having  three  keys. 
One  was  to  be  held  by  the  treasurer,  a  second  by  the  comp- 
troller, and  the  third  by  someone  whom  the  governor  him- 
self would  name.  Rochemore  on  his  part  informed  the 
crown  that  such  allegations  were  simply  incredible.2 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cix,  fols.  1-2;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S.  M., 
Jan.  19,  1759. 
1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xli,  fols.  30-31,  72-75. 


I46  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I46 

The  home  government  seems  to  have  gotten  a  different 
impression  from  the  governor's  reports.  On  August  29, 
it  addressed  Rochemore  as  follows :  "  your  antipathy  for 
Governor  Kerlerec  and  a  disregard  for  all  the  wise  council 
he  gave  you  on  your  arrival  in  the  province ;  your  haste,  in 
spite  of  his  advice,  to  call  in  all  the  treasury  notes  and  to 
draw  that  year  more  than  1,800,000  livres  in  bills  of  ex- 
change on  the  French  treasury  .  .  .  for  these  reasons  and  for 
many  more,  founded  upon  your  unsociable  nature  and  in- 
compatibility with  the  colonial  service  .  .  .  the  crown  has  de- 
cided to  recall  you  to  France  "-1  Because  of  the  political 
influence  of  his  family  in  France,  however,  no  order  to 
return  immediately,  was  sent  to  him  at  this  time.  Accord- 
ingly for  several  months  more,  Rochemore  continued  to 
hold  the  office  of  "  ordonnateur  ".2 

Ignorant  of  the  results  of  his  labor  upon  the  home  gov- 
ernment, and  determined  that  it  should  know  the  truth 
about  the  administration  of  the  finances  of  Louisiana  by 
Rochemore,  Kerlerec  continued  to  send  further  information 
directly  to  France  and  also  by  way  of  Denmark,  Holland 
and  Spain.  On  October  8,  1759,  he  despatched  a  letter  to 
France  stating  that  the  "  ordonnateur  "  was  selling  from 
the  royal  storehouses  goods  intended  for  Indian  pres- 
ents. This  merchandise,  at  low  prices,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  members  of  Rochemore's  political  clique  who 
sold  it  at  a  profit  of  500  to  600  per  cent.  By  such  a 
manceuver  the  "  ordonnateur  "  was  able  to  share  the  gains 
and  at  the  same  time  present  to  the  governor  a  balanced 
treasury  report.  The  governor  also  asserted  that  the  "  or- 
donnateur ",  contrary  to  his  instructions,  was  buying  up 
whole  cargoes  of  European  merchandise  in  order  to  con- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cix,  Louisiane,  fol.  13. 
1  Villiers  du  Terrage,  pp.  140-144. 


147]  PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 

trol  prices.  One  instance  is  cited  in  which  Rochemore 
gave  a  bill  of  exchange  amounting  to  250,000  livres  for  a 
cargo  that  he  was  able  to  dispose  of  for  400,000.  Public 
clamor  against  such  proceedings,  it  was  affirmed,  was  in- 
creasing daily,  and  the  discontent  was  augmented  by  the 
way  in  which  bills  of  exchange  were  distributed.  Unless 
they  belonged  to  the  Rochemore  faction,  it  was  difficult  for 
persons  in  the  service,  who  had  families  in  France,  to  secure 
bills  of  exchange  to  make  them  remittances.  Some  of 
these  men  were  able  to  send  part  of  the  amount  they  de- 
sired, while  others,  for  example,  four  captains  and  Macarty, 
commandant  in  the  Illinois  country,  could  obtain  none.1 

Such  methods  made  speculation  in  bills  of  exchange 
lucrative.  A  treasury  clerk,  an  appointee  of  Rochemore, 
kept  a  shop  in  New  Orleans  where  he  sold  bills  of  exchange 
at  an  advance  of  fifteen  per  cent  or  more.2  It  seems  the 
crown  had  received,  in  part  at  least,  the  same  information. 
On  October  i,  it  asked  for  a  fuller  report  on  the  administra- 
tion of  the  finances  of  the  province,  and  asserted  that  it 
was  impossible  for  Rochemore's  secretary  to  amass  40,000 
livres  in  less  than  a  year  unless  the  "  ordonnateur  "  him- 
self had  had  some  part  in  the  intrigue.3 

On  October  12,  Rochemore  defended  his  action  in  re- 
gard to  the  recall  of  treasury  notes  the  preceding  year  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  simply  followed  the  example  set 
him  by  Michel  and  Vaudreuil,  but  made  no  mention  of  the 
many  accusations  made  against  him  by  colonial  officials.  He 
at  this  time  informed  the  home  government  that  for  the 
past  six  months  his  health  had  been  in  a  wretched  state, 
hence  he  greatly  needed  a  change  of  climate — the  only  point, 
perhaps,  on  which  he  and  the  governor  were  ever  in  ac- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xli,  fols.  120-125.  *  Ibid. 

Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cix,  fol.  25. 


I48  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

cord.1  October  16  he  made  another  report  to  the  crown 
stating  that  he  had  drawn  on  1759  for  but  869,000  livres.2 
On  December  7  he  sent  the  home  government  a  more 
detailed  statement  in  which  he  asserted  the  only  money  in 
use  in  the  province  was  treasury  notes,  orders  on  the  treas- 
ury and  a  very  little  silver.  The  paper  of  itself  depreciated 
in  value  by  soon  becoming  so  worn  and  torn  that  it  was 
difficult  to  know  its  value,  hence  no  one  wished  to  receive  it 
except  at  a  very  great  discount.  Speculation  in  bills  of  ex- 
change, the  "  ordonnateur  "  asserted,  had  now  become  a 
business  with  the  discount  on  treasury  notes  so  great  as  to 
make  them  almost  worthless.8 

The  financial  perplexities  of  Louisiana  at  this  time  were 
augmented  greatly  by  the  conditions  existing  in  the  royal 
treasury.  So  nearly  was  the  home  government  bankrupt 
that  it  was  obliged,  October  15,  1759,  to  suspend  payment 
on  bills  of  exchange  and  was  able  to  send  to  Louisiana 
none  of  the  supplies  asked  for.  For  the  coming  year  it 
permitted  Kerlerec  to  draw  on  the  crown  in  bills  of  ex- 
change to  the  amount  of  400,000  livres  to  be  used  for  the 
most  pressing  current  expenses  and  to  hold,  if  possible,  the 
confidence  of  the  troops  and  colonists  in  the  royal  govern- 
ment.* 

The  outlook  for  an  improvement  in  the  finances  of  Louis- 
iana in  1760  could  scarcely  have  been  more  discouraging, 
yet  the  governor  kept  up  his  efforts  to  rid  the  province  of 
the  services  of  Rochemore.  In  his  report,  March  30,  he 
attempted  to  elucidate  the  matter  to  the  crown  by  making 
a  summary  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  "ordonnateur" 
for  the  past  eighteen  months,  as  follows:  from  the  1,996,- 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xli,  fols.  282-287. 
1  Ibid.,  fol.  310. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  318-322. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cxiv,  Louisiana,  fols.  20-21. 


I49] 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 


ooo  *  of  bills  of  exchange  issued  in  October,  1758,  he  de- 
ducted 1,400,000  livres  for  the  administration  of  Desclo- 
siaux,  "  ordonnateur  "  ad  interim,  which  subtracted,  left 
charged  to  Rochemore  596,000  livres.  The  last  issue  of 
October,  1759,  amounted  to  1,050,000  livres.  The  records 
since  that  date,  he  asserted,  showed  4,000,000  livres  more 
were  issued,  which  made  the  entire  amount  5,646,000  livres. 
Before  the  governor  was  able  to  despatch  the  report  to 
France  he  learned  of  1,041,850  additional,  drawn  in  Oc- 
tober, 1759,  which  brought  the  amount  for  the  period  in 
question  to  6,687,850  livres.  The  governor  affirmed  that 
this  last  issue  had  been  announced  in  Louisiana  to  be  500- 
ooo  or  600,000  livres.2  Rochemore's  statement  to  the 
crown  made  it  869,000  livres.3  On  June  25,  1760,  the  "  or- 
donnateur ",  in  making  reference  to  this  same  issue,  appar- 
ently, put  it  at  only  150,000  livres,  70,000  livres  drawn  on 
1759  and  80,000  on  the  allowance  of  1760.* 

During  the  year  the  bitter  struggle  between  the  governor 
and  "  ordonnateur  "  reached  its  climax  when  Kerlerec, 
amid  shouts  from  the  people  of  "  Vive  le  roi  et  Monsieur 
le  governeur  ",  and  with  the  physical  support  of  the  sol- 
diers, entered  a  house  and  seized  goods  belonging  to  Roche- 
more.  It  had  been  rumored  that  the  "  ordonnateur  "  was 
to  be  assassinated.  He  undoubtedly  believed  the  time  had 
come.  Rochemore,  a  man  of  less  than  mediocre  ability,  de- 
prived of  his  best  political  supporters  by  this  time,  fearful 
of  being  murdered,  was  unable,  henceforward,  to  carry  on 
extensively  his  evil  practices  in  the  administration  of  the 
finances  of  the  province.  Kerlerec  was  practically  in  full 
control.  5 

1  Supra,  pp.  143,  145.    The  governor's  error. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  12-21.  3  Supra,  p.  148. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  126-127. 

5  Villiers  <lu  Terrage,  p.  94. 


The  governor  now  formulated  a  plan  which  he  believed 
would  improve  the  colonial  currency  and  communicated  it 
to  the  crown.  He  informed  the  home  government  that 
there  were  more  than  3,000,000  livres  in  different  kinds 
of  treasury  notes  in  use.  They  had  been  issued  from  time 
to  time  by  the  "  ordonnateurs  "  because  of  a  lack  of  funds 
for  current  expenses,  and  at  first  had  been  redeemed  each 
year  with  bills  of  exchange;  but  that  practice  long  since 
had  been  given  up.  Since  the  notes  were  signed  only  by  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  and  comptroller,  it  was  the  general  belief 
in  the  province,  that  they  were  without  royal  sanction, 
hence  no  one  had  the  least  confidence  in  them.  He  there- 
fore proposed,  as  his  solution  of  the  currency  difficulty,  the 
issuing  of  4,000,000  livres  in  parchment  or  paper  money 
to  be  used  in  redeeming  the  treasury  notes.  They  were  to 
have  the  form  of  "  bons  ",  six  by  four  inches  in  size,  bear- 
ing the  king's  arms,  and  ranging  in  value  from  six  sols  up 
to  5,000  livres.1  After  receipt  in  New  Orleans,  they  were 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xlii,  fol.  198.  The  values  and  amounts  of 
each  kind  of  "  bons  "  to  be  issued : — 

Denominations  Total 

Number.  in  livres.  in  livres. 

100 5,000 500,000 

loo 4,000 400,000 

200 3,000 600,000 

300. . .   2,000 600,000 

600 1,000 600,000 

1,000 500 500,000 

1,000 300 300,000 

I,OOO 2OO 200,000 

1,000 zoo 100,000 

1,000 50 50,000 

1,000 40 40,000 

1,000 20 20,000 

2,OOO 12 24,OOO 

2,000 6 I2.OOO 

3,000 3 9,000 

10,000 48  sols 24,000 

10,000 24  sols 12,000 

lO.OOO 12   SOls 6,OOO 

10,000 6  sols 3,000 

55,300  4,000,000 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT  Ici 

to  be  numbered  and  signed  by  the  comptroller  and  also  by 
the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  ",  after  which  they  were 
to  become  current  money  for  the  sum  cut  in  the  corner. 
This  currency  was  to  be  accepted  on  a  par  with  silver  and 
bills  of  exchange,  and  was  to  be  legal  tender  for  all  debts. 
Six  months,  from  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  ordi- 
nance in  Louisiana,  were  to  be  allowed  in  which  to  bring 
the  old  notes  to  the  treasurer  at  New  Orleans,  by  whom  they 
would  be  redeemed  with  "  bons  " ;  otherwise  they  would  be 
null  and  void.1  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  proposal 
would  have  gone  far  toward  the  solution  of  the  currency 
problem,  nothing  was  done  to  enact  it  into  law. 

On  May  20,  1761,  Foucault  became  acting  "ordonna- 
teur ".  He  found  the  storehouse  entirely  empty,  hence 
was  obliged  to  buy  supplies  for  the  troops  at  the  private 
shops  at  extravagant  prices.  There  were  abuses  every- 
where. Paying  the  officers  in  bills  of  exchange  fostered 
speculation  in  paper  money  of  which  he  found  6,783,347 
livres  in  circulation,  standing  at  five  to  one  with  silver.2 
On  July  7  the  governor  informed  the  royal  government  that 
the  irregularities  in  the  administration  of  the  finances  mul- 
tiplied daily,  that  there  were  innumerable  petty  annoyances 
and  many  quarrels  of  a  most  indecent  sort.  He  estimated 
the  paper  money  outstanding  at  10,000,000  livres,  and 
added,  "  France  is  indeed  to  be  pitied  if  it  can  find  no  one 
there,  nor  here,  with  whom  to  replace  Rochemore.  For 
some  time  I  have  forced  him  to  hold  the  position  of  a  sec- 
retary and  in  so  doing  I  have  rendered  great  service  to  the 
crown  and  to  the  state  ".s  Before  the  end  of  the  year  the 
home  government  appointed  d'Abbadie  "  ordonnateur  "  of 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  195-200. 

*  Villiers  du  Terrage,  pp.  144-145. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  221-223. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

Louisiana.  December  22  it  granted  him  a  "  gratification  " 
of  6,000  livres  to  be  paid  him  immediately,  and  on  that 
day  he  left  France,  reaching  Louisiana  April  29,  1762.* 
For  the  administration  of  the  office,  the  crown  gave  the 
new  "  ordonnateur "  very  full  instructions,  perhaps  too 
complete  ever  to  be  read.  On  the  subject  of  the  finances, 
for  example,  he  was  permitted  to  draw  600,000  livres  in 
bills  of  exchange  for  current  expenses,  250,000  livres  of 
which  were  to  be  expended  at  Vera  Cruz  and  Campeachy 
in  supplying  urgent  needs,  the  remaining  350,000  livres  in 
paying  for  provisions  drawn  from  France.  200,000  livres 
additional  were  allowed  for  the  purpose  of  liquidating  the 
colonial  debt.  The  "  ordonnateur  "  was  further  instructed 
to  divide  the  bills  of  exchange  into  parts  with  four,  six  or 
eight  months  to  run  so  that  their  time  of  maturity  would 
be  equally  distributed  over  the  twelve  months  of  the  year. 
Moreover,  it  was  stated,  no  bills  of  exchange  would  be  paid 
unless  a  report  explaining  the  cause  for  which  drawn  either 
preceded  or  accompanied  the  bills.  In  order  to  restore 
confidence  in  the  treasury  notes  and  other  paper  money 
issued  by  Rochemore  and  those  who  had  held  the  office 
before  him,  d'Abbadie  was  commanded  to  redeem  the  paper 
with  new  notes  of  the  same  value  and  form.  He  was 
further  ordered  to  make  an  exact  valuation  of  the  paper 
money  in  circulation.  The  statement  was  to  be  signed  by 
himself,  the  governor,  the  treasurer  and  the  comptroller 
and  then  sent  to  the  home  government.  It  was  its  wish  to 
withdraw  as  soon  as  practicable  all  the  paper  money  in  use 
in  the  province  and  to  replace  it  with  silver.  The  "  ordon- 
nateur "  was  finally  commanded  to  carry  out  the  royal  in- 
structions in  conjunction  with  the  governor  and  comp- 
troller. *  Just  how  well  d'Abbadie  followed  this  instruction 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cxiii,  pt.  i,  fols.  298,  313. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  cxiv,  Louisiane,  fols.  10-14;  vol.  cxvi,  Louisiane,  fol.  i. 


153] 


PAPER  MONEY  AND  CREDIT 


153 


belongs  to  the  story  of  the  finances  under  the  Spanish 
regime.  Before  the  province  passed  to  Spain,  however,  a 
bill  of  exchange  for  50,000  livres  drawn  by  Rochemore  for 
supplies  furnished  the  new  floating  post  established  just 
before  he  left  office,  reached  the  royal  treasury.  This  bill 
astonished  the  home  government,  since  it  had  supplied  that 
post  with  provisions  at  Havana  to  the  amount  of  71,000 
livres.  * 


1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cxiv,  Louisiane,  fols.      20-21. 


154 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[154 


\\\ 


By  way  of  summarizing  the  story  of  paper  money  in 
Louisiana  during  the  French  regime  the  five  above  curves 
have  been  drawn.  Curve  I  represents  the  bills  of  exchange 
that  were  authorized  by  the  home  government;  Curve  II, 
the  bills  of  exchange  drawn  by  the  different  "  ordonna- 
teurs";  Curve  III,  the  treasury  notes  that  were  in  use; 
Curve  IV,  the  estimated  amount  of  all  kinds  of  paper  money 
in  circulation;  Curve  V,  the  depreciation  of  paper  money 
as  compared  to  that  of  silver  or  bills  of  exchange.  Line  i 
represents  the  paper ;  line  2,  the  silver. 


CHAPTER  XII 
TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1699-1731 

THE  men  who  made  up  the  settlement  founded  by  Iber- 
ville  on  Biloxi  Bay  in  1699,  were  interested  chiefly  in  min- 
ing and  trading,  with  scarcely  even  a  secondary  interest  in 
agriculture.  Consequently,  for  the  first  years  of  the  settle- 
ment's existence  the  mother  country  was  obliged  to  send 
foodstuffs  from  France  in  order  to  keep  the  colony  alive. 
For  the  reception  of  this  merchandise  a  storehouse,  52x 
26x14  feet,  was  built  on  Dauphin  Island  at  a  cost  to  the 
crown  of  490  livres,  and  was  paid  for  with  royal  merchan- 
dise at  a  considerable  advance  on  the  cost  in  France.1 

On  the  orders  from  the  home  government,  commodities 
from  this  repository  were  to  be  drawn  for  the  support  of 
the  settlement  and  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  trade  be- 
tween France  and  her  infant  colony.  From  1702  to  1706 
the  colonial  officials,  without  the  royal  orders,  took  out  of 
this  warehouse  47,807  livres,  eleven  sols,  eight  deniers 
worth  of  merchandise,  some  of  which  sold  at  a  profit  on 
the  cost  in  France  of  600  per  cent.  Unfortunately  for  the 
crown,  however,  the  gains  did  not  find  their  way  into  the 
royal  treasury.  Instead,  the  profits  passed  into  the  pockets 
of  Iberville  and  his  brothers  who  often  sold  the  goods  to 
the  Spaniards  when  the  colonists  of  Louisiana,  themselves, 
were  actually  suffering  from  lack  of  food.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  1706,  the  results  from  this  method  of  administra- 
tion were  that  the  province  had  made  but  little  advance- 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  i,  fols.  1-20. 
155  [155 


j^6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [^6 

ment  and  as  yet  no  trade  with  the  mother  country  was  es- 
tablished.1 Scarcity  of  food  could  not  always  be  traced  to 
the  unwise  distribution  of  the  merchandise  by  the  officials. 
The  French  government,  during  the  early  years  of  the  col- 
ony, was  too  hard  pressed  for  money  to  send  commodities 
regularly  to  Louisiana.  Moreover,  some  that  were  provided 
were  unfit  for  use  when  they  reached  America.2 

To  establish  trade  with  a  province  having  so  few  pro- 
ducts for  export  as  Louisiana  during  the  first  years  of  its 
life  was  a  difficult  undertaking.  The  crown  had  instructed 
Iberville  to  make  pearls  and  buffalo  wool  the  two  chief 
articles  for  the  trade  in  question.  The  pearls  found  in 
Louisiana  were  fine  neither  in  luster  nor  shape,  yet  the 
royal  government  ordered  that  a  careful  search  be  made 
for  them.  It  was  soon  admitted,  even  by  the  crown  itself, 
that  Louisiana  pearls  were  worthless,  but  it  was  some  time 
before  the  wool  project  was  given  up.3  In  1708  the  home 
government  sent  out  a  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing fisheries  in  the  province  where  fish  could  be  dried  for 
the  export  trade.  This  venture,  however,  was  no  more  suc- 
cessful than  that  in  pearls  and  wool.4 

Iberville  had  told  Count  de  Pontchartrain  that  it  was  his 
opinion,  as  well  as  that  of  men  "  most  versed  in  American 
affairs,  that  Louisiana  would  never  be  settled  unless  trade  was 
thrown  open  to  all  the  merchants  in  the  kingdom  ",5  No 
importance  being  attached  to  this  opinion,  the  royal  au- 
thorities began  to  look  about  for  some  one  who,  for  an 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  47;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  May  13, 
1710. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  514-569;  vol.  ii,  fols.  519-527;  Ser.  B,  1C, 
vol.  xxix,  fol.  I. 

8  Charlevoix,  Hist,  and  Gen.  Desc.  of  New  France,  vol.  v,  pp.  128-129. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fols.  257-259. 

6  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  v,  p.  128. 


J57]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

exclusive  trading  privilege,  would  be  willing  to  relieve  them 
of  the  task  of  supporting  the  new  colony.  An  offer  was 
made  to  some  merchants  of  St.  Malo,  to  whom  Louisiana 
was  represented  as  having  great  possibilities  in  mines  and 
in  a  trade  in  ship  lumber  with  the  Spanish-American  colo- 
nies. The  venture,  it  seems,  did  not  appeal  to  these  men; 
hence  the  crown  was  forced  to  go  on  with  the  work  until 
some  one,  willing  to  relieve  it  of  the  burden,  could  be 
found.1  During  the  intervening  period  the  government,  to 
some  extent,  increased  its  activities  and  by  1712  had  two 
ships  making  trips  more  or  less  regularly.2 

On  September  24,  1712,  the  crown  by  letters-patent 
granted  to  Antoine  Crozat,  a  French  merchant,  the  sole 
right  of  trade  in  Louisiana.  This  trade  monopoly  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years  required,  among  other  things,  the 
sending  to  the  colony,  yearly,  of  a  fixed  number  of  settlers 
and  a  certain  amount  of  merchandise  for  the  support  of 
the  garrison.  Crozat  was  to  pay  the  crown  a  fifth  part  of 
all  gold,  silver  and  precious  stones  he  secured  from  the 
province.  He  was  permitted  to  buy  all  kinds  of  peltry,  ex- 
cept beaver  skins,  and  under  some  limitations  his  trade  be- 
tween France  and  the  colony  was  to  be  free  from  duties. 
The  plan  of  giving  a  province  to  a  merchant  or  company 
of  merchants  was  not  a  new  policy.  It  had  been  tried 
elsewhere  with  very  discouraging  results,  yet  the  French 
government  was  too  glad  to  be  rid  of  this  unprofitable  pos- 
session to  consider  possible  consequences.3 

At  first,  trade  under  Crozat' s  control  was  confined  to 
Dauphin  Island  and  Mobile,  the  only  articles  of  export 
being  peltry  and  lumber.  Scarcity  of  ships  from  France 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  51-52. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  513;  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  ii,  fols.  193-211,  213. 

3  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  3,  pp.  38-42. 


!58  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

at  times  made  it  necessary  to  keep  the  pelts  so  long 
in  the  warm,  damp  climate  of  the  Gulf  coast  that  they 
were  partly  destroyed  by  insects.1  In  April,  1713,  a 
vessel  from  France  came  to  the  colony  with  a  cargo  of 
merchandise  and  ammunition  which  was  deposited  in  the 
royal  storehouse.2  The  next  year  a  boat  brought  to  the 
province  a  cargo  of  80,000  pounds  of  merchandise,  but 
before  it  was  landed  the  ship  and  cargo  were  lost.  So 
great  was  the  distress  caused  by  this  disaster  that  the  offi- 
cials of  Louisiana  were  obliged  to  send  out  a  vessel  in 
search  of  food.3  From  the  end  of  the  year  1712  to  the 
beginning  of  1716  four  ships  loaded  with  merchandise  left 
France  for  the  settlements  on  the  Gulf  coast.  As  yet  the 
province  had  made  little  progress,  hence  with  the  exception 
of  peltry,  it  was  producing  no  exports  for  the  mother 
country.4 

An  exclusive  privilege  like  the  one  given  to  Crozat  in 
1712,  stands  always  in  need  of  protection.  In  making 
other  grants  in  the  colony  the  crown  was  careful  not  to 
bestow  any  that  might  run  counter  to  the  trading  interests 
of  Crozat.5  This  merchant,  himself,  however,  took  means 
to  protect  his  Louisiana  rights.  He  first  selected  colonial 
officials  upon  whom  he  could  rely  to  carry  out  his  instruc- 
tions, but  unfortunately  both  for  him  and  the  province  these 
men  were  not  otherwise  fitted  for  colonial  posts.  Under 
no  circumstances  were  foreign  traders  allowed  in  the  pro- 
vince. Therefore,  in  1714  and  1715,  when  ships  with  car- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  212-213,  216-223. 

7  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  506. 

8  La  Harpe,  p.  115. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser,  C13,  vol.  iv,  fols.  67-68;  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  vi, 
P-  32. 
6A.'N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  127. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

goes  of  merchandise  sorely  needed  by  the  colonists  reached 
Louisiana  they  were  not  permitted  to  be  sold.  At  the  same 
time  these  selfsame  agents  were  buying  peltry  for  what 
they  chose  to  pay  for  it  and  selling  European  merchandise 
at  a  profit  of  not  less  than  300  per  cent.1  Such  greed  on 
the  part  of  Crozat's  officers  created  much  discontent  in  the 
colony  and  caused  the  inhabitants  to  trade  clandestinely  on 
every  possible  occasion.2 

Infringements  of  this  sort  were  not  conducive  to  the 
success  of  Crozat  who  from  the  first  had  found  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  patent  very  expensive.  As  early  as  1714  he 
informed  the  crown  that  the  maritime  trade  had  been  re- 
duced almost  to  nothing.3  He  kept  control  of  Louisiana 
three  years  more  and  then  surrendered  his  rights.  In  the 
month  of  August,  1717,  the  crown  ceded  the  province  to 
the  "  Company  of  the  West "  with  substantially  the  same 
trading  privileges  as  those  bestowed  in  the  patent  of  1712. 
Vessels  not  belonging  to  the  Company  and  found  trading 
in  Louisiana  were,  together  with  their  cargoes,  to  be  con- 
fiscated.4 This  grant  was  made  for  twenty-five  years  and 
by  the  decree  of  September  27,  1717,  the  territory  within 
which  it  should  operate  was  extended  so  as  to  include  the 
Illinois  country.5 

The  Company  of  the  West  began  its  control  of  Louisiana 
by  making  an  attempt  to  establish  trade  on  a  better  basis. 
By  means  of  colonization  with  settlers  who  would  engage 
in  agriculture  the  Company  planned  to  secure  products  for 
export.  Growth  of  settlement  was  to  be  effected  on  the 

1  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  in,  fols.  209-310;  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  vi, 
P-  34- 
*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-251. 

3  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  vi,  p.  36. 

4  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  pp.  47-81. 

8  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  589;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xli,  fol.  616. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [Z6o 

lower  Mississippi  where  there  were  direct  connections  both 
with  the  Illinois  country  and  the  interior  settlements  of 
Mexico,  with  which  the  Company  desired  to  open  trade. 
Accordingly,  about  a  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  a  site  for  a  new  capital,  New  Orleans,  as  the 
center  of  commercial  activities,  was  selected.1 

During  the  period  of  the  Company's  control  vessels  came 
oftener  and  much  more  regularly  than  before,  touching 
always,  both  on  the  inward  and  outward  voyages,  at  the 
French  West  Indies.2  They  brought  settlers  and  merchan-. 
disc,  and  carried  away  peltry.  Between  November  14  and 
25,  1718,  alone,  three  ships  took  from  the  province  100,000 
pounds  of  tobacco,  Campeachy  wood  and  skins.  The  two 
first-named  articles,  however,  were  not  products  of  the 
colony,  itself,  but  had  been  secured  from  Spanish  mer- 
chants who  had  conveyed  them  to  the  province  in  order  to 
exchange  them  there  for  French  merchandise  which  had 
been  brought  over  in  large  quantities  during  August  and 
September  of  that  year.3 

In  December,  1718,  certain  changes  were  made  in  the 
French  trading  corporations.  The  Company  of  the  West 
acquired  the  rights  of  the  Senegal  Company,  and  after 
other  changes  assumed  the  name  of  the  "  Company  of 
the  Indies",  March  9,  1719.*  The  policy  adopted  by  the 
reorganized  Company  was  much  the  same  as  that  of  its 
predecessor;  that  is,  sending  out  ships  with  settlers  and 
merchandise  so  as  to  secure  products  for  export.5  This 
method  under  the  management  of  the  Company  of  the 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  54<>-55°- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  5Vr.  B,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  70;  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fols.  16,  36-41. 

*  Le  Gac,  op.  clt.    Newberry  Lib.,  Chicago. 

4  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  589-500;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fols.  240-241, 
267. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  S$r.  C13,  vol.  ix,  fols.  26-28. 


Z6i]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

Indies  resulted  in  a  substantial  increase  in  the  population 
of  the  province.  In  1719,  German  settlers  willing  to  en- 
gage in  agriculture  were  sent  to  the  colony.1  In  1720,  a 
ship  from  Dunkerque  brought  to  Louisiana  300  galley 
slaves,  hardly  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  development 
of  it,  since  few  of  them  could  be  induced  to  take  up 
any  kind  of  work,  let  alone  a  laborious  occupation  like 
agriculture,  in  a  new  country  where  fields  had  to  be  cleared 
before  crops  could  be  planted.  Before  the  end  of  the  year, 
however,  two  vessels  brought  from  France  300  men  of  a 
much  better  quality.  Many  of  them  took  up  land  from 
choice  and  began  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.2 

Already  the  province  was  exporting  peltry,  lumber,  pitch 
and  tar,  with  the  last-named  product  selling  at  eight  livres 
a  barrel  if  paid  for  with  silver,  but  ten  if  bills  of  exchange 
or  merchandise  were  offered  in  payment.  To  this  list  of 
exports  the  Company  was  attempting  to  add  both  rice  and 
tobacco.  Furthermore  the  Company,  in  1720,  proposed  the 
building  at  New  Orleans,  Biloxi  and  Mobile  of  large  sheds 
or  covered  markets  for  the  reception  of  colonial  products, 
and  also  agreed  to  pay  at  these  places  twenty-five  livres  a 
hundredweight  for  the  best  tobacco,  twenty  for  the  sec- 
ond, and  fifteen  for  the  third  grade.  In  order  to  increase 
more  rapidly  the  amount  of  tobacco  put  upon  the  market, 
it  was  further  proposed  to  allow  the  overseer  of  plantations 
for  the  Company,  the  only  person  in  the  province  in  a 
position  to  take  up  the  culture,  a  bounty  of  500  livres 
annually  and  an  additional  one  of  three  per  cent  on  the 
price  of  the  best  grade  of  tobacco.  Under  the  new  rules, 
furthermore,  only  one  or  two  cases,  taken  at  random 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  571. 

*A.,  B.  de  I'A.,  vol.  4497,  fols.  65-66;  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  vi,  fol. 
23 ;  Chaville,  p.  7. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

from  the  lot  presented  for  sale,  were  to  be  weighed  and 
these  weights  taken  as  the  standard  for  the  remainder. 
The  arrangement,  however,  seems  to  have  been  unsatis- 
factory to  the  colonists  who  from  lack  of  laborers  were 
unable  to  make  the  regulation  cases.  They  preferred  to 
ship  the  tobacco  in  any  sort  of  contrivance  they  could  most 
easily  construct.1 

The  price  of  rice  was  at  the  same  time  fixed  at  twelve 
livres  a  hundredweight,  with  the  same  arrangement  with 
regard  to  the  cases  as  for  tobacco.  Foreign  merchandise 
was  to  be  sold  in  the  coast  settlements  for  an  advance  of 
50  per  cent  on  the  cost  in  France  and  an  increase  of  100 
in  the  Illinois  country,  with  proportional  prices  for  the 
posts  between.  Under  this  regulation  wine  sold  in  lower 
Louisiana  for  120  livres  a  cask  (60  gal.)  and  brandy  at 
100  livres  a  "quart"  (15  gals.),  a  rate  that  made  the 
former  retail  at  ten  and  the  latter  at  20  sols  a  quart.2  It 
was  reported  to  the  royal  government  that  the  settlers 
wished  to  make  an  agreement  whereby  they  would  be  al- 
lowed to  pay  for  European  goods  with  indigo,  tobacco  and 
cotton  payable  at  the  close  of  each  harvest.3 

In  1722,  nine  ships  arrived  in  Louisiana  with  4,200  pro- 
spective settlers  on  board.  Among  the  newcomers  were 
men,  with  their  families  of  German,  French  and  Jewish 
origin.  Many  of  these  colonists  took  up  land  along  the 
Mississippi  and  at  once  began  to  devote  themselves  to 
agriculture.4  The  colony  was  now  able  to  make  some 
progress  in  producing  exports  for  trade  with  the  mother 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  617-621;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  23; 
vol.  xii,  fols.  202-207;  La  Harpe,  pp.  200-291. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  vi,  fols.  14-24;  xii,  fol.  204. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fol.  23. 

4  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  576-583;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fols.  14, 
287-289. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

country.  The  Natchez  district  contained  what  was  re- 
garded as  the  best  tobacco  land  in  the  province,  yet  the  ex- 
portation there  was  hampered  in  two  ways:  first,  by  the 
regulations  as  to  cases,  and  second,  by  a  shortage  of  boats 
to  carry  the  tobacco  to  market.1  Other  parts  of  the  pro- 
vince were  not  so  restricted  and  on  January  20,  1725,  a 
boat  that  had  been  waiting  at  New  Orleans  for  the  coming 
of  the  convoys  from  the  Illinois  country  left  the  capital 
for  Mobile  where  it  took  on  a  cargo  of  tobacco  and  tar. 
This  craft,  with  its  cargo  valued  at  200,000  livres,  was 
wrecked  soon  after  setting  sail  and  both  ship  and  cargo 
were  lost.2 

In  September  a  vessel  left  the  colony  for  France  with  a 
cargo  consisting  in  part  of  indigo  and  peltry  valued  at 
8,438  livres,  six  sols.  A  few  days  later  an  incoming  ship, 
through  the  ignorance  of  the  pilot,  was  run  aground  on  an 
island  off  the  Louisiana  coast  and  in  order  again  to  put  the 
boat  afloat  it  was  necessary  to  cast  overboard  between  300 
and  400  barrels  of  flour  and  many  boxes  of  shoes.  The 
loss  of  the  two  cargoes  was  a  great  setback  to  the  trade 
between  France  and  the  province.*  In  order  to  counter- 
balance these  disasters,  the  colonial  council  requested  the 
royal  government  to  send  over  a  supply  of  fish  oil,  cloth 
and  knives  to  be  used  in  the  making  of  indigo.* 

This  year  the  people  of  Louisiana  were  granted  some 
liberty  in  trade.  They  were  to  be  allowed  to  sell  their  tar 
and  pitch  either  at  the  colonial  market  proper,  or  to  ship  it 
directly  to  France  at  their  own  risk.  In  the  latter  case 
freight  rates  for  these  commodities  were  fixed  at  100  livres 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  viii,  fol.  227. 
*  Ibid.,  fol.  234. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fols.  241-243. 

4  Ibid.,  fols.  239,  243. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

a  ton  of  not  less  than  eight  barrels.  One-half  of  each 
shipment  was  to  go  toward  paying  the  bills  due  the  Com- 
pany, the  remainder  could  be  disposed  of  as  the  owner  saw 
fit.  In  order  to  stimulate  production,  the  Company  agreed 
to  pay  for  these  products,  for  a  year  or  two,  fifteen  livres 
a  barrel  (200  pounds),  after  which  time  the  price  was  to 
drop  to  eight  or  ten  livres.  The  plan  was  financially  bene- 
ficial to  all  concerned.  It  was  calculated  that  at  each  ship- 
ment the  exporter  would  send  not  less  than  100  barrels, 
twelve  and  a  half  tons.  This  amount  would  net  the  Com- 
pany 1,250  livres  from  the  freight  and  leave  the  manu- 
facturer 250  livres  for  other  expenses  and  profit.1  The 
privilege  seems  to  have  brought  about  no  immediate  im- 
provement for  on  October  24,  1725,  the  colonial  council 
complained  that  the  ordinance  had  not  been  put  properly 

into  execution.2 

. 
In  1726  the  exports  of  Louisiana  were  silk,  tobacco,  rice, 

indigo,  pitch,  tar,  lumber,  masts,  sassafras  and  quinine  of 
a  rather  poor  quality.3  The  next  year  the  Company's  in- 
terest was  centered  chiefly  in  making  tobacco  the  most 
important  export  product.  Because  of  the  expense  neces- 
sary to  begin  the  growing  of  tobacco,  and  in  order  to  en- 
courage the  settlers  who  were  financially  able  to  enter  this 
industry  but  were  slow  in  doing  so,  the  Company  paid  in 
some  particular  localities  ten  sols  a  pound  for  this  commo- 
dity. The  farmers  at  Capitoulas,  three  leagues  above  New 
Orleans,  received  this  special  price  for  some  of  a  very  in- 
ferior quality  because  they  considered  the  culture  unprofit- 
able and  had  determined  to  give  it  up.4 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Natchez  settlement  were  also  paid 

i  A.  N.t  C.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  46-49. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  fol.  243. 
3  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  fols.  151-153. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  186-187. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        ^5 

ten  sols  for  what  they  put  upon  the  market.  Many  persons 
in  other  places  in  lower  Louisiana  were  already  established 
in  the  industry.  At  this  time  they  requested  the  Company  to 
take  for  the  next  ten  years  what  tobacco  they  had  to  sell 
at  eight  sols  a  pound,  if  delivered  in  bundles,  and  payable 
in  silver;  seven  sols,  if  in  bills  of  exchange  and  ten,  if  for 
cancelling  debts  they  had  contracted  under  the  old  regime. 
The  Company  rejected  the  proposal  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  offering  farmers  already  started  in  this  work  a  fair 
price  for  tobacco.1 

The  encouragement  the  Company  gave  to  the  tobacco 
growers  was  somewhat  fruitful.  On  April  29,  1728,  a 
ship  sailed  for  France  with  a  load  of  tobacco  and  peltry.2 
In  July  another  one  set  out  laden  with  lumber,  tobacco, 
peltry  and  2,382  piastres,  and  before  the  end  of  the  month 
still  another  with  a  shipment  of  tar  and  lumber.3 

The  tobacco  crop  of  1728  was  very  short  and  much  of 
that  put  on  the  market  was  of  inferior  quality.  Some  of 
the  colonists  nevertheless  were  cultivating  the  plant  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  other  products,  not  even  excepting  their 
own  food  supply.  Tobacco  of  the  best  grade  was  then 
selling  at  three  "  reaux  "  ( real  =  twelve  sols,  six  deniers) 
a  pound  and,  in  bundles,  two  "  reaux  ".  The  governor  said 
he  had  paid  as  much  as  eight  "  reaux  "  for  some  of  a 
superior  quality.*  The  following  year  the  crop  was  short 
because  of  a  season  of  almost  continuous  rain,  suffering  a 
reduction  from  400,000  pounds  to  about  300,000.  In  spite 
of  these  unfavorable  conditions,  therefore,  the  colony  put 
upon  the  market  a  considerable  amount,  and  some  cotton 
as  well.5 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C12,  vol.  x,  fols.  169-170,  186-187. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  165-167. 

3  Ibid.,  fols.  52,  56.  *  Ibid.,  f ol.  65. 
5  Ibid.,  vol.  xii,  fols.  138-140. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

There  were  other  products  that  might  have  been  included 
among  the  exports  if  France,  like  other  countries  of  the 
time,  had  not  prohibited  raising  in  her  dominions  commo- 
dities that  competed  with  similar  articles  brought  forth  in 
the  mother  country.  Thus  hemp,  flax  and  wine  were  not 
produced  in  Louisiana.  For  a  while  also  there  was  quite  a 
trade  in  walking-sticks  made  from  the  root  of  the  cane. 
They  were  very  popular  in  France  and  varied  in  value  ac- 
cording to  the  closeness  of  the  nodes  of  the  root  from 
which  the  sticks  were  made.1 

The  endeavors  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies  to  estab- 
lish Louisiana  on  a  substantial  commercial  basis  had,  there- 
fore, not  been  a  failure  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
province.  A  goodly  number  of  new  settlements  had  been 
made,  and  the  production  of  commodities  for  export  had 
undergone  a  considerable  increase.  By  1731,  pitch,  tar, 
lumber,  tobacco,  rice,  corn,  beans,  indigo  and  cotton  were 
produced,  and  each  year,  on  a  whole,  showed  a  gain  in 
quality. 

It  is  now  needful  to  consider  the  cost  to  the  Company  in 
bringing  about  this  development.  Almost  from  the  start 
it  had  been  hampered  by  abuses  in  the  trade ;  hence  on  Oc- 
tober I,  1722,  it  issued  an  ordinance  forbidding  anyone, 
without  the  consent  of  the  commandant,  to  board  a  vessel 
on  its  arrival  in  the  province  for  the  purpose  of  buying  up 
the  cargoes  and  thereby  of  controlling  the  price.  Because 
of  this  practice  the  colonists  were  often  forced  to  pur- 
chase European  goods  at  unnecessarily  high  rates.  Viola- 
tions of  the  ordinance  were  to  be  punished  with  a  fine  of 
100  livres  and  confiscation  of  the  merchandise.2  Since  the 
law  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  trouble,  on  May  26,  1723, 

1  Dumont,  vol.  i,  p.  28. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  i,  1722. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        ^7 

the  council  issued  a  decree  making  it  illegal  for  any  one  to 
board  such  ships  without  a  permit  from  that  body  itself.1 

In  the  following  September  the  "  ordonnateur "  com- 
plained to  the  home  government  that  the  boats  coming  to 
the  province  brought  prodigious  quantities  of  trumpery 
owned  by  the  officials  and  crew.  The  commander  of  one 
craft  sold  in  Louisiana  what  belonged  to  his  private  ac- 
count for  more  than  3,000  piastres.  There  were  others, 
also,  on  board  owning  goods  which  they  disposed  of  on 
arrival.  A  galley  slave,  in  fact,  had  smuggled  on  board  100 
piastres  worth  of  such  wares,  enough  to  buy  his  freedom 
and  passage  money  for  his  return  to  France.  This  ship,  the 
colonial  officials  claimed,  was  only  a  fair  example  of  the 
enormous  quantity  of  "pacotille"  carried  by  all  boats  coming 
to  the  province.2  The  master  of  a  slave  vessel  in  1723,  for 
another  example,  touched  at  Cape  Frangais,  where,  under 
the  pretext  of  buying  supplies  for  his  craft,  he  purchased 
instead,  wine,  soap  and  other  kinds  of  merchandise  which 
he  sold  to  advantage  in  Louisiana.5  Two  years  later  these 
private  sales  were  still  going  on.  One  ship  captain  in  par- 
ticular disposed  of  a  cargo  of  wine,  flour,  cheese  and  beer 
on  a  plea  that  the  Company  had  not  sent  merchandise 
enough  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  colonists.  This  private 
trade  was  injurious  to  the  Company  in  two  ways;  its  ves- 
sels were  being  used  to  carry  freight  from  which  it  received 
no  profit,  while  at  the  same  time  the  crews  were  being 
rendered  wholly  indifferent  to  their  employer's  interests, 
and  the  development  of  Louisiana  was  being  made  to  suffer 
by  the  excessive  prices  demanded  for  the  goods.  These 
private  merchants  paid  no  attention  to  the  official  rates  of 
sale,  but  disposed  of  their  goods  for  whatever  the  needs 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  May  26,  1723. 
''Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  27. 
*Ibid.,  fol.  61. 


!68  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

of  the  people  would  allow  them  to  charge;  thereby,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  defeating  the  Company's  desire  to  ad- 
vance the  industries  of  the  province.1 

In  April,  1728,  other  irregularities  in  the  trade  were 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  crown.  It  was  discovered 
that  on  the  five  ships  that  reached  the  province  this  year, 
there  was  a  marked  leakage  in  brandy,  wines  and  all  kinds 
of  drugs  on  board.  This  shortage  entailed  great  loss  to 
the  Company  and  indirectly  was  detrimental  to  the  pro- 
vince as  a  whole,  in  that  there  were  not  enough  drugs  with 
which  properly  to  treat  the  sick.  This  in  turn  led  to  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  death  rate,  a  further  obstacle  to  a 
realization  of  the  Company's  plans.2  To  these  losses  aris- 
ing from  dishonesty  of  employees  must  be  added  those 
produced  by  the  inefficiency  of  these  persons  and  by  actual 
misfortunes.3 

Aside  from  the  obstacles  above  described,  the  Company 
of  the  Indies  as  early  as  1722  began  to  realize  the  enormity 
of  the  undertaking  of  making  Louisiana  a  lucrative  com- 
mercial province.  The  principles  adopted  to  develop  trade 
between  the  province  and  France  were  sound,  but  they 
entailed  large  investments  on  which  the  profits  were  most 
precarious.  Moreover  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  large 
expenditure  must  go  on  for  many  years.  The  Company, 
therefore,  transferred  its  interest  to  the  building  up  of  a 
trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies  by  making  Louisiana  the 
base  for  the  necessary  merchandise.  Therefore,  at  the  end 
of  thirty-two  years  of  the  existence  of  the  province,  and 
after  having  been  under  several  different  controls,  the  trade 
with  the  mother  country  was  still  not  yet  well  started. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ix,  fols.  17-19. 
'Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  30-32. 
3  Supra,  p.  161. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1731-1763 

FRANCE,  in  1731,  stood  at  a  considerable  disadvantage 
in  the  commercial  world  when  compared  with  the  Dutch 
and  English  who  had  on  the  seas  a  hundred  merchant  ves- 
sels to  her  one.1  There  seems  to  be  no  justification  for 
this  difference.  At  this  time  France,  like  all  other  Euro- 
pean states  having  foreign  possessions,  permitted  its  colo- 
nies to  trade  with  no  one  but  the  mother  country.  In 
America,  where  its  provinces  were  far  greater  in  extent 
than  those  of  England,  France  employed  but  300  ships. 
By  providing  a  sufficient  number  of  white  settlers  and 
black  laborers  whereby  commerce  might  be  augmented,  it 
was  claimed  that  in  a  few  years,  and  at  no  expense  to  the 
home  government,  1,000  vessels  would  be  needed  to  carry 
on  the  American  trade.2  Such  was  the  spirit  of  France 
when  Louisiana,  for  a  second  time,  became  a  crown  colony. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  royal  control,  this  spirit 
is  reflected  in  the  administration  of  Louisiana.  An  earnest 
endeavor  was  made  to  interest  French  merchants  in  the 
commerce  of  the  province.  Soon  an  agreement  was  reached 
with  a  trader  of  La  Rochelle  to  send  a  vessel  of  200  tons 
with  a  cargo  of  food  and  other  merchandise  to  the  province 
toward  the  end  of  August,  1731.  This  pledge,  however, 
was  made  only  on  the  condition  that  the  crown  should  get 
a  merchant  of  Bordeaux  to  make  a  similar  promise.  To 

1  A.  B.,  A.  £.,  Fr.,  vol.  1990,  fol.  79. 

''Ibid.,  fols.  109,  113;  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  590. 

169]  169 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

this  end,  on  July  31,  the  men  there  engaged  in  maritime 
activities  were  appealed  to  by  the  royal  government  and 
urged  to  send  ships  to  Louisiana.1  A  further  attempt  was 
made  to  draw  the  merchants  of  the  kingdom  into  the  trade 
when,  August  4,  the  crown  exempted  for  six  years  all 
merchant  vessels  from  carrying  soldiers  and  arms  and  de- 
clared the  commerce  of  the  province  open  alike  to  all  its 
subjects.  The  fare  for  each  soldier  sent  out  by  the  home 
government  was  in  future  to  cost  it  sixty  livres  plus  the 
food  necessary  for  the  voyage.2 

The  goods  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies  at  the  time  of 
the  retrocession  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  articles 
suited  only  to  the  Spanish  trade  and  in  amount  about 
1 80  tons.3  As  early  as  June  24,  1731,  the  supply  of 
flour,  wine,  brandy  and  salt  was  inadequate.4  The  gov- 
ernor and  "  ordonnateur  "  estimated  that  the  colony  would 
require  annually,  exclusive  of  the  flour  for  the  troops, 
3,000  quintals  of  flour,  200  casks  of  wine  and  3,650  gal- 
lons of  brandy.5  At  the  time  bread  for  the  soldiers  was 
made  of  a  flour  composed  of  equal  parts  of  rice  and  wheat — 
a  practice  the  "  ordonnateur  "  proposed  to  continue  since 
the  former  was  one-fourth  cheaper  than  the  latter,  and 
because  there  was  always,  when  the  supply  of  wheat  flour 
from  France  for  any  reason  was  shortened,  the  danger  of 
being  forced  to  give  the  troops  a  bread  made  entirely  from 
rice,  a  diet  that  never  failed  to  create  discontent  among 
the  men.* 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  B,  vol.  Iv,  fols.  55-56. 

*  Ibid.,  fol.  148;  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  4,  1731. 

8  Ibid.,  Sir.  C18,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  3. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xiii,  fol.  146. 

5  Ibid.,  fol.  17. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fol.  n. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        iji 

Supplies  from  France  reached  the  province  in  Decem- 
ber, 1731,  when  a  royal  ship  brought  to  the  colony  mer- 
chandise, and  carried  back  between  40,000  and  50,000 
pounds  of  Louisiana  tobacco.  The  "  ordonnateur "  ad- 
vised the  settlers  to  send  to  France  only  that  of  the  best 
grade  since  there  was  transportation  for  but  part  of  what 
was  then  ready  for  the  market.1  Heretofore  the  exporters 
had  been  allowed  to  send  this  commodity  to  France  on  the 
Company's  vessels  at  a  freight  charge  of  fifty  livres  a  ton 
for  cotton,  tobacco  and  rice.  The  settlers  at  this  time 
asked  the  crown  to  continue  the  practice  and  also  to  exempt 
Louisiana  imports  from  all  duties,  as  was  the  custom  in  all 
French  colonies  not  well  established.  They  further  begged 
the  royal  government  not  to  reduce  the  price  of  six  sols  a 
pound  that  the  Company  was  paying  them  for  their 
tobacco.2  The  crown,  therefore,  September  30,  1732,  for 
a  period  of  ten  years,  permitted  the  exemption  asked  for.3 

Before  the  end  of  the  year  1731  the  vessel  promised  by 
the  La  Rochelle  merchant  reached  the  province  with  a  cargo 
valued  at  37,000  livres,  cost  in  France,  and  consisting  of 
some  good  wine,  875  quintals  of  flour  and  other  merchan- 
dise. The  captain  began  selling  the  day  after  his  arrival  at 
New  Orleans  and  in  the  first  few  days  the  receipts  were 
9,000  livres,  after  which  the  merchandise  was  disposed  of 
much  less  rapidly.  In  order  to  hasten  the  return  to  France, 
it  was  decided  to  sell  at  50  per  cent  advance  on  the  cost  in 
France  what  was  left  of  the  cargo.  A  prominent  settler 
who  represented  a  colonial  association  took  the  remainder 
of  the  goods  and  gave  in  exchange  something  more  than 
100,000  pounds  of  tobacco,  also  rice  and  cotton  in  consid- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiii,  fols.  79,  132-133;  vol.  xiv,  fol.  4. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  4. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Sept.  30,  1732. 


172 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


erable  quantities  and  the  balance  in  cash.  This  money  the 
captain  invested  partly  in  peltry,  brick  and  logwood  to 
complete  the  cargo,  and  for  15,157  livres,  the  remainder, 
received  from  the  "  ordonnateur  "  a  bill  of  exchange  on 
France.1  The  supplies  of  the  province  were  still  further 
augmented  by  the  arrival,  December  22,  of  a  vessel  be- 
longing to  the  Company.  The  captain  of  the  ship  spent  ten 
days  in  disposing  of  the  cargo  and  in  buying  up  tobacco, 
peltry  and  cotton  for  another  for  the  return  voyage.2 

During  the  year  1732  trade  in  Louisiana  was  good.  In 
March  a  royal  vessel  brought  to  the  province  100,000  livres 
in  French  money,  1,200  quintals  of  flour,  20,000  pounds 
of  powder,  and  clothing  for  the  troops,  all  of  which,  ex- 
cepting the  dry-goods,  was  in  good  condition  when  it 
reached  the  province.5  Early  in  the  next  month  a  ship  be- 
longing to  a  Bordeaux  merchant  arrived.  The  merchandise 
on  board  did  not  sell  readily  because  during  the  last  month 
of  the  previous  and  the  early  months  of  the  current  year 
there  had  been  landed  in  the  colony  an  abundance  of  Euro- 
pean goods.  In  most  things,  therefore,  the  supply  was 
already  adequate.  In  order  that  the  merchandise  from 
Bordeaux  should  be  disposed  of  as  advantageously  as  that 
from  La  Rochelle,  the  governor  proposed  to  the  captain  of 
the  former  ship  to  sell  enough  goods  for  cash  to  buy  a 
cargo  of  brick  which  he  should  carry  to  the  French  West 
Indies  and  there  exchange  it  for  sugar  and  syrup,  mean- 
while leaving  the  remainder  of  the  merchandise  in  Louis- 
iana. Bricks  were  selling  for  fifteen  livres  a  thousand,  on 
which  it  was  claimed  a  profit  of  nine  livres,  ten  sols  could 
be  made.  On  the  return  from  the  islands  the  tobacco  crop 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  139-141;  vol.  xv,  fol.  5. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  37,  44-45. 

slbid.,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  5-6;  vol.  xv,  fols.  57,  117-118. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

which  was  then  estimated  as  worth  between  3,000  and 
4,000  livres  would  be  ready  for  shipment.  He  could  then 
sell  his  merchandise  well  and  at  the  same  time  secure  a 
cargo  for  the  return  to  France.  The  proposal  was  not  ac- 
cepted. It,  however,  seemed  impossible  to  glut  the  market 
with  liquor.  The  inordinate  demand  for  this  commodity 
made  it  possible,  at  this  time,  to  sell  wine  at  thirty  sols  a 
pot,  and  at  wholesale  at  from  150  to  200  livres  a  cask. 
Brandy  from  the  ship  was  sold  at  from  forty  to  fifty  sols 
a  pot.  The  colonial  officials  desiring  supplies  for  the  hos- 
pital bought  part  of  the  cargo  in  question,  worth  5,160 
livres,  sixteen  sols,  six  deniers.  They  gave  in  exchange 
deerskins  at  twenty-five  sols  a  pound.  The  officials  consid- 
ered this  transaction  advantageous  to  the  crown,  since  the 
peltry  had  already  begun  to  decay  and  all  would  have  been 
lost  if  allowed  to  remain  longer  in  the  storehouse.  When 
the  products  of  the  province  suited  to  the  French  trade 
were  exhausted,  the  remainder  of  the  merchandise  was  sold 
for  30,472  livres  in  silver.  This  amount,  however,  was 
left  in  the  colonial  treasury  and  the  captain  took  instead  a 
bill  of  exchange  on  France.1 

In  August,  1732,  Louisiana  was  visited  by  a  violent 
storm  that  swept  over  the  province,  destroying  crops  and 
property  of  all  kinds.  Many  worthy  settlers  were  ruined 
and  would  have  died  of  starvation  but  for  a  daily  distribu- 
tion of  rice  from  the  royal  storehouse.  There  were  still  in 
the  province  many  lazy  and  shiftless  men  who  spent  at 
cards  on  Sunday  all  they  could  earn  in  the  following  week, 
and  at  this  time  such  persons  were  reduced  to  extreme 
want,  since  the  government  gave  support  only  to  deserving 
persons  who  showed  a  willingness  to  work.2 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  63;  vol.  xv,  fols.  173-174. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  3-6,  7-8. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

The  vessels  reaching  Louisiana  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  were,  therefore,  most  opportune  in  the  time  of  arrival. 
Every  thing  in  the  way  of  foodstuffs  was  very  scarce  and 
prices  correspondingly  high.  The  first  ship  to  reach  the 
province  was  unable  to  furnish  enough  supplies  even  to 
remove  the  existing  distress,  consequently  when  a  ship 
from  St.  Malo  arrived  at  New  Orleans  on  December  6,  it 
found  brandy  and  wine  selling  at  twenty- four  and  fifteen 
livres  a  pot,  respectively.1  The  men  in  charge  of  this  vessel, 
however,  were  not  satisfied  with  these  prices  and  endeav- 
ored to  push  them  up  by  circulating  a  rumor  that  the  royal 
ship,  then  overdue,  had  been  lost  at  sea.  This  report,  the 
captain  of  the  merchant  craft  believed,  would  destroy  all 
hope  there  was  left  of  securing  aid  from  the  crown  and 
thus  enable  him  to  put  upon  his  merchandise  any  price  his 
fancy  might  dictate.  Whatever  the  influence  of  the  story 
upon  prices,  the  cargo,  valued  at  between  10,000  and  12,000 
livres,  was  disposed  of  for  100,000  livres;  some  very  poor 
wine  that  cost  in  France  only  fifteen  to  twenty  livres  a  cask 
sold  for  300,  while  brandy  brought  seven  livres,  and  "  guil- 
dive  ",  a  kind  of  rum,  four  to  five  livres  a  pot.2 

In  order  to  develop  the  trade  on  the  colonial  side  the 
settlers  on  their  part  were  urged  to  grow  tobacco  and  cotton, 
since  with  a  small  labor  supply  a  greater  amount  of  ex- 
ports could  be  produced  from  these  two  than  from  any 
other  of  the  staples.  In  tobacco,  it  was  claimed,  a  good 
worker  could  easily  harvest  a  thousand  pounds,  while  a 
very  industrious  man  in  the  same  season  could  produce 
double  that  amount  and  be  able  to  find  time  to  raise  his  own 
foodstuffs.8 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  3-6,  7-8- 

2  Ibid.,  fols.  5-6. 

s  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  I4&-I5O. 


175]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

Louisiana  cotton  was  marvelously  beautiful  and  could 
be  produced  quite  as  easily  and  as  abundantly  as  tobacco, 
but  its  culture  was  hampered  by  the  difficulty  the  planters 
found  in  separating  the  fiber  from  the  seed.  This  obstacle 
was  formidable  and  resulted  in  greatly  reducing  the  value 
of  cotton  as  an  export,  since  it  took  as  much  as  three 
pounds  in  the  grain  to  make  one  without  the  seed.  The 
freight  to  France  at  fifty  livres  a  ton  for  unseeded  cotton 
was  too  expensive,  while  a  rate  of  twenty-five  livres  for  it 
separated  from  the  seed  was  quite  out  of  the  question,  since 
there  were  no  laborers  in  the  province  to  remove  the  seed 
before  exportation.1 

The  inhabitants  of  Mobile  themselves  took  the  initiative 
in  the  matter  of  adopting  measures  whereby  they  could  in- 
crease their  exports.  On  May  12,  1732,  one  of  the  men 
at  that  post  proposed  to  make  an  experiment  in  order,  if 
possible,  to  increase  the  output  of  tar.  He  asked  for  and 
was  granted  free  transportation  on  a  royal  ship  for  250 
barrels  of  tar  which  he  proposed  to  send  to  France.  It  was 
to  go  to  New  Orleans  and  there  to  be  placed  on  the  first  of 
the  government's  boats  bound  for  France,  where  it  was  to 
be  offered  for  sale  on  the  open  market  at  Rochefort  at 
twelve  livres  a  hundredweight  for  the  tar  and  eight  or  nine 
for  the  pitch.  Such  prices  would  insure  a  good  profit  on 
the  venture,  it  was  claimed,  and  would  result  in  increasing 
the  output  by  stimulating  many  persons  to  enter  the  in- 
dustry.2 

For  several  years  the  province  had  been  producing  indigo 
for  the  export  trade,  yet  nothing  at  this  time  was  done  to 
increase  the  yearly  amount  put  upon  the  market.  Silk  cul- 
ture received  some  attention,  but  no  definite  plans  were  laid 
for  the  development  of  the  article.31  Lumber,  however, 

i  A.  N,,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  3-4,  148-149. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fols.  113-114.  s  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  44-46. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

came  in  for  a  share  of  the  consideration  for  an  increase  in 
the  colonial  exports,  and  the  same  year  a  cargo  of  cypress 
lumber  was  sent  to  France  n  order  to  ascertain  whether 
further  shipments  would  be  i  'visable.1 

The  European  side  of  tht  ,ouisiana  trade  was  also  in- 
vestigated with  the  hope  of  improving  conditions.  The 
crown  on  its  part  advised  the  merchants  engaged  in  the 
commerce  of  the  province  not  to  send  too  many  vessels  to 
the  colony  at  one  time,  because  the  merchandise  thus  car- 
ried would  glut  the  market  and  therefore  would  not  sell 
well,  and  because  there  would  not  be  enough  products  there 
to  supply  all  the  ships  with  cargoes  for  the  return  voyage.2 
The  home  government,  however,  virtually  had  control  of 
this  matter  since  a  merchant  must,  before  sending  out  his 
ship,  first  secure  for  the  venture  a  royal  permit  which  fixed 
the  time  of  departure  of  the  vessel  from  France,  the  des- 
tination and  to  some  extent  the  nature  of  the  cargo  car- 
ried.3 The  royal  government,  therefore,  during  the  year 
1732,  had  taken  much  interest  in  the  province  and  had  ex- 
pended considerable  energy  in  promoting  its  development. 

The  crown's  activities  among  the  French  merchants  was 
fruitful,  and  by  the  beginning  of  1733  merchants  from  La 
Rochelle,  Bordeaux  and  St.  Malo  had  vessels  in  the  Louis- 
iana trade.  The  successful  disposition  of  the  first  cargo 
sent  to  the  colony  perhaps  spoke  more  eloquently  than  any 
urging  on  the  part  of  the  French  government.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  port  from  which  the  first  ship  set  sail  had  two 
vessels  in  the  traffic  while  the  others  represented  had  only 
one  each.  The  home  government,  moreover,  appreciated 
this  fact  and  did  what  it  could  to  make  the  ventures  of  the 
merchants  bring  back  good  returns,  yet,  at  the  same  time, 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C12,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  142. 

*  Ibid.,  Str.  B,  Ivi,  fol.  95.  s  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixii,  fols.  7,  62,  83. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

it  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  development  of  Louisiana.  Ac- 
cordingly for  the  transportation  of  goods  to  and  from  the 
province  the  merchants,  by  n  king  special  petitions  to  the 
crown,  could  secure  a  "  graf  iication  ",  or  subsidy,  at  this 
time  amounting  to  forty  liv.  j  a  ton,  on  such  merchandise. 
After  the  subsidy  had  been  ^  unted,  the  merchant  in  order 
to  secure  the  money  must  present  to  the  home  government 
a  certificate  of  sales  of  the  cargo  and  also  a  statement 
showing  the  amount  of  colonial  products  carried  on  the 
return  trip.  No  statement  of  certificates,  however,  would 
be  honored  by  the  crown  unless  made  out  and  signed  by 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  of  Louisiana.1 

During  the  year  1733  the  hopes  for  a  rapid  increase  in 
the  amount  of  cotton  put  upon  the  market  was  raised  by 
the  introduction  into  the  province  of  a  species  of  cotton  gin 
which,  it  was  believed,  would  make  the  separation  of  the 
seed  from  the  fiber  easy  and  rapid.2  The  merchants  in 
France  interested  in  the  tobacco  trade,  however,  obscured 
this  rosy  outlook  for  Louisiana  cotton  through  a  possible 
lessening  of  the  prospects  for  colonial  tobacco,  by  refusing 
to  pay  anything  like  reasonable  prices  for  that  commodity 
unless  shipped  in  rolls.  The  supply  of  laborers  in  the  pro- 
vince often  made  this  work  impossible;  therefore  the 
planters  were  obliged  to  take  any  price  the  traders  saw  fit 
to  offer  them,  or  make  the  shipment  of  tobacco  to  France  at 
their  own  risk,  paying  freight  for  transportation  either  on 
the  royal  or  private  vessels.  Most  of  the  settlers  were  in 
no  condition  to  wait  for  the  sale  of  their  tobacco  and  the 
return  from  France,  which  occupied  as  much  as  eighteen 
months.  During  this  period  they  were  apt  to  be  without 

i  A.  N,,  C.,  Str.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fols.  629,  641 ;  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xix,  fols. 

22-24. 

1  Ibid.,  S6r.  C13,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  47-48. 


I78  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

means  of  support  for  their  families  and  negroes.  More- 
over, the  price  of  twenty-five  livres  a  quintal  for  tobacco 
was  not  enough  when  they  were  forced  to  pay  for  mer- 
chandise at  double  and  even  treble  its  cost  in  France.1  At 
this  time  the  home  government  added  to  the  difficulties  of 
the  tobacco  growers  by  fixing  the  freight  rate  on  tobacco 
at  fifty  livres  a  ton,  a  rate  that  before  had  been  as  low  as 
twenty-five  livres.2 

The  royal  ship  reported  lost a  and  others  reached  Louisi- 
ana early  in  1733.  Although  they  had  on  board  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  supplies  for  the  colony  there  was  not 
enough,  under  the  extraordinary  circumstances  then  exist- 
ing in  the  province,  to  have  any  appreciable  effect  upon 
prices,  since  these  combined  cargoes  did  not  exceed  400 
tons.  This  supply,  moreover,  was  scarcely  enough  to  dis- 
suade the  discouraged  settlers  from  their  intention  of  re- 
turning to  France.  The  discontent  was  great  among  the 
"  bourgeoisie  "  and  planters  in  and  around  New  Orleans. 
The  settlers  who,  just  at  this  time,  were  beginning  their 
establishments  were  also  much  discouraged.4  One  of  these 
vessels  later  took  on  a  cargo  of  150  "  boucauts  "  (hogs- 
heads) of  tobacco,  all  that  was  left  of  the  storm-ridden 
crop,  and  some  peltry  at  Mobile.5  Further  discouragement 
just  now  was  heaped  upon  the  people  of  Louisiana  by  the 
rejection  of  their  brick  and  lumber  in  the  markets  of 
France,  where  they  had  been  pronounced  of  inferior  qual- 
ity and  sold  at  a  price  too  low  to  warrant  further  ship- 
ment.6 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  80-82. 

2  Ibid.,  S6r.  B.,  vol.  Iviii,  fol.  182;  vol.  lix,  fol.  580. 

3  Supra,  p.  174. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  no,  140-141. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  89-90,  163. 
'  Ibid.,  fols.  204-207. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

On  February  17,  1733,  a  boat  left  Bordeaux  for  Louis- 
iana, where  it  arrived  on  May  27,  with  a  cargo  of  100 
tons.  Of  this  consignment  there  were  sixty  tons  of  wine, 
nine  tons  of  brandy,  ten  of  flour  and  the  remainder  dry 
merchandise  (merchandise  seche).  The  whole  of  the  cargo 
was  of  good  quality  and  sold  readily.  Therefore  the  vessel 
was  able  to  leave  for  France  on  July  25. 1  A  second  mer- 
chant ship  arriving  about  this  time  also  sold  its  cargo  to 
advantage.2  No  more  vessels  set  out  from  France  for 
Louisiana  until  August,  when  three  left  for  the  province 
almost  at  the  same  time,  one  each  from  the  ports  of  St. 
Malo,  Bordeaux  and  La  Rochelle.3 

The  first  of  these  crafts  to  reach  Louisiana  was  the  one 
from  St.  Malo.  It  carried  only  a  trade  permit  for  Mobile. 
Lack  of  such  a  privilege  for  New  Orleans,  however,  was 
of  small  consequence  to  the  captain.  On  reaching  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  he  sailed  to  the  capital  under  the  pretext  that 
he  was  forced  to  do  so  in  order  to  prevent  his  boat  being 
seized  by  the  English.  The  colonial  officials,  however, 
were  not  misled  by  this  statement,  and  asserted  that,  had 
this  story  not  been  a  satisfactory  reason  for  the  appearance 
of  the  boat  at  New  Orleans,  another  would  have  been  im- 
mediately forthcoming.  The  captain  disposed  of  some  of 
the  merchandise  on  board,  then  went  to  Mobile  where  he 
sold  wine  at  120  livres  a  cask,  brandy  at  thirty-five  sols  a 
pot,  and  flour  at  thirty  livres  a  barrel.  The  dry-goods  of 
the  cargo  he  disposed  of  at  five  times  the  cost,  and  the 
other  merchandise  at  a  profit  of  from  60  to  80  per  cent. 
For  the  return  trip  he  took  on  tar,  deerskins  and  logwood. 
He  paid  for  the  tar  thirteen  livres  a  barrel  of  200  quintals, 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  116,  266;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  89-90. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  38-39. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fols.  629-631. 


!8o  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

the  whole  of  the  purchase  amounting  to  18,440  livres.1  For 
the  remainder  of  the  sales  he  received  a  bill  of  exchange  on 
New  Orleans  for  the  sum  of  12,349  livres,  two  sols,  four 
deniers,  thus  making  the  amount  disposed  of  30,789 
livres,  two  sols,  four  deniers.  The  vessel  then  returned 
to  New  Orleans  where  the  captain  finished  buying  his 
cargo  for  France.  Here  he  sold  what  was  left  of  the 
European  merchandise  and  purchased  383  "  quarts "  of 
tar.2 

The  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  requested  the  home 
government  to  send  other  ships  directly  to  Mobile.  They 
asserted  that  in  so  doing  it  would  save  the  people  there 
from  paying  a  second  profit  and  also  many  trips  to  New 
Orleans  for  supplies.  Moreover,  it  would  stimulate  the 
pitch  and  tar  industry  which,  it  was  thought,  could  be  in- 
creased to  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  an- 
nually. These  products  the  inhabitants  of  Mobile  wished 
to  exchange  for  wine,  brandy,  flour  and  other  European 
goods.3 

The  vessel  from  La  Rochelle  was  the  second  of  the  three 
merchant  ships  to  reach  the  colony.  Its  cargo  was  dis- 
posed of  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  owner.  The  cap- 
tain, however,  declared  the  venture  unprofitable  and  as- 
serted he  had  no  desire  to  bring  his  boat  again  to  Louis- 
iana while  the  situation  in  the  cotton  and  tobacco  trade  re- 
mained unchanged.  These  products  were  selling  at  prices 
which,  he  further  claimed,  robbed  him  of  legitimate  gains. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  CiS,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12.  Governor's  report  gives 
wine  at  500  livres,  the  number  of  skins  as  10,000  to  12,000. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12;  vol.  xix,  fols.  3-5,  22-24,  151-157;  Ser.  B, 
vol.  Iviii,  fol.  60;  vol.  Ixi,  fols.  620-631. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C19,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  89-90;  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12;  vol.  xix, 
fols.  3-5,  22-24. 


!8i]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        jgi 

The  "  ordonnateur  "  nevertheless  informed  the  home  gov- 
ernment that  every  trader  coming  to  the  province  indulged 
in  such  talk,  and  that  it  was  wholly  unwarranted  by  the 
facts  in  the  case.  The  sales  of  the  merchandise  of  the  ves- 
sel in  question  certainly  seem  to  bear  out  the  statement  of 
the  colonial  official,  since  the  captain  sold  wine  at  480  livres 
a  cask,  brandy  at  thirty  to  thirty-five  sols  a  pot,  flour  at 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  livres  a  barrel  and  the  remainder 
of  the  goods  brought  over  was  also  disposed  of  profitably. 
The  captain  took  in  exchange  lumber  of  all  kinds,  brick, 
pitch,  tar  (eighty  "quarts"),  and  some  other  colonial 
products  suited  to  the  St.  Domingue  trade  and  the  balance 
in  a  bill  of  exchange  on  France.  Before  leaving  the  prov- 
ince he  bought  also  some  tobacco  which  he  secured  per- 
mission from  the  "  ordonnateur  "  to  send  to  France  on  one 
of  the  royal  ships.1 

The  vessel  from  Bordeaux  was  the  last  of  the  three  crafts 
to  reach  Louisiana.  The  colony  was  comfortably  supplied 
with  a  better  quality  of  wine  than  that  coming  from  Bor- 
deaux, hence  it  did  not  sell  well.  The  captain  there- 
upon decided  not  to  attempt  immediately  to  dispose  of  what 
he  had  brought  to  the  province.  Instead  he  rented  a  room 
in  New  Orleans  where  he  stored  the  wine,  in  order  to  hold 
it  until  that  of  a  better  quality  had  been  consumed  when,  he 
believed,  he  would  be  able  to  sell  more  advantageously. 
This  procedure  necessitated  a  stay  in  the  province  of  many 
months.  Just  at  the  time  that  he  was  able  to  command  200 
livres  a  cask  for  the  inferior  wine  the  untimely  arrival  of 
another  vessel  from  Bordeaux  with  a  better  grade  on 
board,  put  an  end  to  his  scheme  and  he  was  obliged  to  sell 
the  100  casks  still  remaining,  in  lot,  at  57  livres  each.  Had 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  89-90;  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12;  vol. 
xix,  fols.  3-5,  22-24. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

he  sold  all  the  wine  on  his  arrival,  he  would  have  received 
from  140  to  150  livres  a  cask  and  not  consumed  his  profits 
by  a  long  stay  in  Louisiana  where  the  cost  of  living  was 
very  high.  In  the  meantime,  however,  he  had  bought  up 
100  "  quarts  "  of  tar  which  he  sent  to  France  on  a  royal 
ship  and  he  finally  left  the  province  with  a  cargo  of  pitch 
and  tar  for  the  West  Indies  trade  and  30,000  livres  in  bills 
of  exchange  on  France.1 

It  seems  there  were  no  more  merchant  boats  in  Louis- 
iana until  August,  1734,  when  one  from  La  Rochelle 
and  two  from  Bordeaux  arrived  with  a  supply  of 
wine,  brandy  and  quantities  of  other  merchandise  for 
which  the  captains  were  willing  to  receive  only  bills  of 
exchange  on  France;  their  vessels  were  too  small  to  make 
a  cargo  of  bulky  colonial  products  worth  while.  This  de- 
mand on  the  part  of  the  traders  disarranged  the  finances 
of  the  province  and  gave  displeasure  to  the  officials  who 
requested  the  crown  to  grant  no  more  subsidies  to  boats 
under  200  tons.2  The  request  the  home  government  seems 
to  have  granted,  for,  December  14,  1734,  it  gave  a  ship  of 
seventy-five  tons  permission  to  carry  a  cargo  to  Louisiana, 
but  no  subsidy  was  promised.3 

The  red  wine  from  the  cargoes  of  two  of  the  vessels  was 
sold  in  Louisiana  at  480  livres  a  cask,  the  white  at  320  livres, 
and  the  brandy  at  thirty  sols  a  pot,  and  all  sorts  of  merchan- 
dise brought  equally  good  prices.  The  captain  of  one  of 
the  ships  received  from  the  "  ordonnateur  "  a  certificate  of 
sales  for  ninety-six  tons  and  bills  of  exchange  amounting 
to  47,053  livres,  six  sols,  while  another  got  one  for  sixty 
tons  and  bills  of  exchange  for  92,251  livres,  one  sol,  four 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12;  vol.  xix,  fols.  22-24,  69-70. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  82-83 ;  Ser.  B.,  vol.  Ixi,  f ol.  629. 
3  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ix,  f  ol.  106. 


183] 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 


deniers.1  The  supplies  from  these  two  vessels  brought 
colonial  prices  down,  therefore  the  third  captain  could 
command  but  150  livres  a  cask  for  wine.  Before  the  end 
of  his  sojourn  in  the  province,  however,  he  was  able  to 
advance  that  price  to  200  livres;  brandy  he  sold  at  thirty, 
thirty-five  and  forty  livres  an  "  ancre  "  (sixteen  pots).  On 
leaving  Louisiana  he  took  with  him  a  certificate  of  sales 
for  131  tons  and  bills  of  exchange  on  France  drawn  on  the 
allowance  of  1735  for  16,100  livres,  thirteen  sols.  An- 
other bill  of  exchange  on  the  same  year  was  drawn  for 
7,615  livres,  two  sols,  four  deniers  in  favor  of  a  trader 
who  brought  merchandise  to  the  province  on  this  vessel.2 

During  the  year  1734  there  were  three  royal  ships  in 
Louisiana.  These  crafts  carried  merchandise  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  province  and  one  brought  to  it  a  shipment  of 
lead.  On  the  return  voyage  they  took  to  France  tobacco, 
cotton,  tar  and  some  other  products,  much  of  which  was 
shipped  by  settlers  or  by  men  owning  vessels  in  the  Louis- 
iana trade  occupied  in  carrying  other  cargoes  to  the  French 
West  Indies  where  they  received  a  cargo  for  the  return  to 
France.* 

The  "  ordonnateur  "  in  making  an  inventory  of  the  sup- 
plies brought  to  Louisiana  from  France  by  the  eleven  mer- 
chant ships  during  the  years  1732-1734,  inclusive,  asserted 
that  it  showed  an  astonishingly  large  amount  of  wine  and 
brandy  imported  into  a  province  where  there  were  so  few 
people.  For  these  years  there  were  but  fifty  tons  of  flour, 
a  shortage  explained  by  the  large  supplies  of  flour  sent 
to  New  Orleans  from  the  Illinois  country  and  by  the  fact 
that  many  persons  in  the  province  used  rice  flour  entirety 
for  making  bread.4 

*A.  N,,  C.,  S$r.  C13  vol.  xix,  fols.  106-107. 

2  Ibid.,  fols.  104-107;  Str.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fol.  641. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xix,  fols.  22-24,  37-40. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  31-32. 


!84  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

Since  1731  the  crops  of  Louisiana  had  been  light  and 
the  prospects  for  1735  were  not  promising.  This  year 
the  lumber  output  was  greatly  decreased  by  the  floods  that 
began  in  December,  1734,  and  continued  well  into  April. 
For  four  months  much  of  the  land  was  under  water,  thus 
preventing  the  men  from  working  in  the  forests.1  The 
cotton  gin  introduced  in  1733  2  had  not  been  a  success,  and 
although  some  attempts  had  been  made  to  improve  the 
machine,  nothing  as  yet  had  been  accomplished.3  The  qual- 
ity of  the  cotton  was  fine  and  sold  for  fifteen  livres  a  quintal 
in  France.  In  March,  1735,  in  the  grain,  cotton  brought 
four  sols  a  pound,  while  at  the  same  time  the  seeded  was 
received  at  the  royal  storehouse  at  eighteen  sols  a  pound.4 

The  tar  experiment  made  at  Mobile  in  1732  had  borne 
fruit.  It  was  estimated  in  1735  that  there  would  be  mar- 
keted that  year  between  12,000  and  15,000  barrels  of  pitch 
and  tar  at  Mobile;  and  at  Lake  Pontchartrain,  where  the 
work  had  been  taken  up  later,  between  10,000  and  12,000 
barrels.  In  the  French  market  the  price  stood  at  six  and 
eight  livres  a  quintal,  respectively.  The  price  seems  to  have 
been  satisfactory  since  the  men  engaged  in  the  industry 
complained  only  of  a  shortage  of  negro  labor  for  manu- 
facturing, and  a  lack  of  vessels  in  which  to  send  the  com- 
modity to  France.  The  crown  was  asked  at  this  time  to 
do  what  it  could  to  remove  these  two  obstacles  to  the  pro- 
duction of  tar  and  pitch.5  The  home  government  had  in 
some  instances  allowed  the  settlers  to  send  their  tar  to 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1',  vol.  xix,  fols.  37-40;  vol.  xx,  fols.  52-56. 

2  Supra,  p.  177. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  14-19,  41-44;  vol.  xix,  fols.  8-10. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  89-90;  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  March  30,  1735. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  14-19,  41-44,  51-53;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixi, 
fol.  653. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        ^5 

France  on  its  vessels  free  of  freight  charges.  Moreover  it 
had  ordered  the  colonial  officials  always  to  give  preference 
on  its  ships  to  the  tar  thus  owned.  Many  of  the  producers 
as  in  the  case  of  tobacco  *  were  unable  to  take  advantage 
of  the  privilege  because  it  was  out  of  the  question  for  them 
to  have  so  much  of  their  year's  earnings  tied  up  for  so 
long.  To  relieve  this  condition  the  "  ordonnateur ",  in 
worthy  cases,  made  advances  of  money  to  the  shippers.2 

The  tobacco  output  for  the  year  1735  was  very  short. 
Only  the  cultivators  at  Pointe  Coupee  were  able  to  raise  a 
crop,  hence  the  shipment  for  the  year  consisted  of  what 
they  produced,  in  all  about  100,000  pounds.*  The  royal 
government  fixed  freight  rates  on  tobacco  at  fifty  livres  a 
ton,  with  the  order  that  tobacco  belonging  to  settlers,  as  in 
the  case  of  tar  just  cited,  should  be  preferred  to  that  offered 
by  the  merchants  in  making  up  cargoes  on  its  vessels.*  The 
rice  crop  too  was  light,  and  many  of  the  farmers  were  now 
turning  to  indigo  as  their  staple,  the  production  of  which 
was  encouraged  by  an  increase  in  price  from  three  livres, 
four  sols  to  three  livres  ten  sols  a  pound.5  On  March  30, 
the  prices  of  colonial  products  at  the  royal  storehouse  were 
as  follows :  rice,  not  hulled,  three  livres  a  barrel ;  indigo, 
three  livres,  ten  sols  a  pound ;  raw  pitch  and  tar,  seven  livres, 
ten  sols  a  quintal,  in  France  nine  livres;  peltry,  one  livre, 
ten  sols  a  pound;  cotton,  grained,  eighteen  sols  a  pound; 
and  tobacco,  six  sols  a  pound.6 

The  home  government,  it  seems,  sent  but  one  boat  to 

1  Supra,  p.  177. 

J  A.  N.,  S£r.  C*',  vol.  xix,  fols.  22-24,  58-59. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  52-56. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  31-32;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  593. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  Cia,  vol.  xx,  fols.  52-56,  208-212. 

'  Ibid.,  fols.  208-212;  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  March  30,  1735. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

Louisiana  during  1735.  It  had  on  board  ten  tons  of  wine 
of  a  very  poor  quality,  of  which  a  considerable  part  had 
soured  during  the  voyage  over;  a  quantity  of  flour  which 
sold  at  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  livres  a  barrel,  and  200 
quintals  of  lard.  For  the  return  voyage  the  vessel  took  on 
sixty-five  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  and  thirty-three  of  peltry, 
about  346  barrels  of  pitch  and  273  of  tar,  and  seven  bales 
of  cotton.1 

In  the  same  year,  however,  French  merchants  sent  a 
number  of  ships  to  Louisiana.  In  December,  1734,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  crown  had  granted  to  a  captain,  who  was  also 
the  owner,  permission  to  carry  a  cargo  of  merchandise  to 
the  province.  The  vessel  of  seventy-five  tons  left  France 
in  that  month.  About  the  same  time  a  second  such  ship  set 
out  from  St.  Malo  carrying  a  trade  permit  for  Mobile  only, 
and  a  third  from  La  Rochelle  for  New  Orleans.2  On 
March  29,  the  crown  granted  another  boat  a  trade  permit 
for  Louisiana.3  April  30,  a  vessel  reached  the  province 
from  Bordeaux  with  a  cargo  of  wine,  brandy  and  flour,  the 
sales  of  which  amounted  to  1,860  livres.  For  its  return 
voyage  the  ship  took  brick,  lumber,  laths  and  joists  which 
it  carried  to  the  French  West  Indies.4  On  July  25,  a  ship 
landed  at  the  capital  a  cargo  of  200  tons,  most  of  which 
consisted  of  foodstuffs  which  the  royal  officials  had  told 
the  merchants  were  most  needed  and  always  sold  best.5 
The  "  Comte  de  Maurepas  ",  a  vessel  that  had  been  in  the 
Louisiana  service  almost  from  the  time  the  colony  was 
taken  over  by  the  royal  government,  at  this  time  carried  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  31-32,  210,  229-230. 

s  Ibid.,  fols.  208-212 ;  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  March  30,  1735. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixii,  fol.  153. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  85-91,  101-104. 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  267-272;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ix,  fol.  106. 


187]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

the  province  a  cargo  of  a  little  more  than  209  tons  of  which 
seven  were  salt.1  From  the  colony  it  took  4,629  pounds 
of  beaver  skins  and  between  2,000  and  3,000  pounds  of 
indigo  for  which  three  livres,  ten  sols  a  pound  was  paid, 
and  some  pitch  and  tar.  The  last  two  articles  were  received 
at  the  royal  storehouse  at  Rochef  ort  at  the  rate  fixed  by  the 
government,  but  the  request  of  the  trader  that  he  be  al- 
lowed to  sell  the  skins  in  Holland  was  denied,  the  crown 
explaining  that  the  trade  in  peltry  belonged  exclusively  to 
the  Company  of  the  Indies.2  On  October  25,  the  home 
government  granted  a  merchant  of  Bordeaux  permission 
to  put  his  boat  of  fifty  tons  in  the  Louisiana  trade.  He 
was,  however,  not  to  set  sail  until  December,  since  there 
were  at  the  time  already  three  such  ships  in  the  province.3 
Another  grant,  October  29,  was  made  to  a  merchant  to 
send  a  vessel  to  Mobile  with  a  supply  of  foodstuffs  on 
which  he  was  allowed  a  "  gratification  "  of  twenty  livres  (re- 
duced from  forty  livres  in  1734)  a  ton  on  both  the  out- 
going and  incoming  cargo.  As  there  were  no  other  ships 
at  Mobile  no  restrictions  were  placed  upon  the  time  of  de- 
parture.4 

The  next  year,  1736,  the  home  government  had  one 
ship5  in  Louisiana  and  the  merchants  five.  Three  of  the 
latter  carried  to  the  colony  226  tons  of  wine  and  450  casks 
of  brandy ;  sixty  tons,  250  barrels,  1 1 1  "  quarts  "  and  3,600 
quintals  of  flour;  200  barrels  of  powder  of  fifty  pounds 
each,  and  large  quantities  of  dry  merchandise  (marchan- 

I  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixii,  fol.  83. 

II  Ibid.,  fols.  83,  241 ;  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  105-109,  257-259. 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixii,  fol.  91. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  233. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  256-260. 


!88  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

disc  seche).  Of  this  amount  ninety  tons  of  wine,  3,600 
quintals,  1 1 1  "  quarts  "  of  flour  and  the  powder  were  sent 
over  by  the  royal  government.  For  fifteen  casks  (114^4 
pots  each)  of  wine  the  crown  paid  2,321  livres,  fourteen 
sols,  four  deniers,  and  for  fourteen  casks  more  it  paid  2,100 
livres.1  In  exchange  the  merchants  took  colonial  products, 
in  which  tar  and  pitch  were  included,  and  the  balance  in 
bills  of  exchange  on  France,  the  boats  not  being  large 
enough  to  carry  on  the  return  voyage  cargoes  equal  in 
value  to  the  European  goods  they  had  brought  to  the  prov- 
ince.2 As  in  the  previous  years  the  traders  received  for 
each  such  shipment  a  subsidy  of  twenty  livres  a  ton  on  the 
foodstuffs  carried  to,  and  the  products  of  the  province  taken 
from,  the  colony.8  In  June  of  the  same  year  a  request  was 
sent  to  the  crown  from  the  "entrepreneur  of  public  works" 
for  twenty  tons  of  coal  and  a  supply  of  salt.  If,  however, 
the  crown  should  be  unable  to  provide  both,  it  was  re- 
quested, by  all  means,  to  send  the  coal  which  was  needed 
far  more.  The  royal  government  was  further  informed 
that  many  blunders,  due  to  the  absence  of  this  commodity, 
had  been  made  in  large  as  well  as  small  undertakings  where 
effective  heat  was  required  quickly  and  could  not  be  gotten 
from  the  burning  of  wood.* 

As  early  as  January,  1737,  a  scarcity  of  flour  made  itself 
felt  in  Louisiana  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  quantities 
of  it  had  been  sent  over  the  year  before.5  There  were  five 
vessels  in  the  province  in  1737,  two  of  which  belonged  to 
the  crown,  but  no  description  of  the  cargoes  they  carried 

*A.N.,  C.,  S6r.  C1*,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  243-244,  245-249,  263. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  273-277,  328-329. 
1  Ibid.,  Sir.  B,  vol.  Ixiv,  fol.  271. 

4  Ibid.,  Str.  C1*,  vol.  xxi,  fol.  287. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii.  fols.  121-123,  132-133. 


189]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        i&g 

either  to  or  from  the  colony  is  given.1  As  Louisiana  was 
now  entering  upon  a  war  with  the  Chickasaw  an  increase 
in  both  munitions  and  soldiers  was  necessary.  In  order  to 
furnish  such  supplies  with  the  least  possible  expense,  the 
crown,  July  15,  1738,  took  away,  for  six  years,  the  exemp- 
tion accorded  the  merchants  in  i73i.2  Free  transportation 
thus  obtained  seems  to  have  aroused  too  much  opposition 
to  make  its  continuance  advisable;  therefore  on  November 
25,  the  royal  government  withdrew  the  ordinance  and  is- 
sued another  renewing  the  former  exemption.3 

Notwithstanding  the  discouraging  elements  that  from 
time  to  time  entered  into  the  trade  between  France  and 
Louisiana,  it  gradually  increased,  and  in  1738  there  were 
seven  vessels  in  the  province,  six  merchant  ships  and  one 
belonging  to  the  home  government.*  With  the  exception 
of  three  cases  of  medicaments  sent  from  the  province  to 
France,  the  cargoes  for  these  boats  are  not  described.  As 
in  the  previous  years,  the  merchants  while  in  the  colony 
bought  up  tobacco,  tar,  pitch  and  peltry  which  they  sent  to 
France  on  ships  belonging  to  the  crown,  while  on  their  own 
they  took  cargoes  of  colonial  products  to  the  West  Indies.5 
The  royal  officials  were  still  receiving  requests  from  mer- 
chants to  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Louisiana  trade.  This 
year  it  granted  a  permit  to  a  trader  of  Nantes,  up  to  the 
time  a  port  having  no  vessels  engaged  in  this  commerce. 
Accompanying  the  permit  was  the  allowance  of  a  "  grati- 
fication "  of  twenty  livres  a  ton.6 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  46-50,  128-129,  182,  216. 

2  Supra,  p.  171. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  SVr.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  15,  1738. 

*  Ordonnance  du  Roi  du  Novembre  25,  1738,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C19,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  123-124,  127-128. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  167,  202-203;  S$r.  B,  vol.  Ixvii,  fol.  49. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IO.O 

Due  in  part  at  least  to  the  Indian  war  then  in  progress, 
trade  between  France  and  the  province  in  1739  was  very 
active.  During  the  year  eleven  vessels,  six  by  the  mer- 
chants and  five  by  the  crown,  were  despatched  to  Louis- 
iana. The  cargoes  carried  were  made  up  of  liquor,  large 
supplies  of  lard  for  the  troops,  and  quantities  of  other 
merchandise,  also  with  two  of  the  royal  boats  bringing  to 
the  province  many  soldiers  and  50,000  pounds  of  powder.1 
One  of  these  ships  had  a  capacity  of  500  tons; 2  that  of  the 
remainder  was  much  less,  therefore,  they  could  carry 
from  the  colony  only  a  limited  amount  of  tobacco,  pitch, 
tar  and  cotton  to  France,  and  brick  and  lumber  to  the 
French  West  Indies. 

An  abuse*  that  had  been  practiced  while  the  Company 
of  the  Indies  was  in  control  of  the  province  was  renewed 
at  this  time  though  in  a  somewhat  different  form.  Then 
the  wine  in  the  casks  on  reaching  Louisiana  was  found  to 
be  short  of  the  amount  stated  in  the  invoice ;  now  there  was 
a  shortage  in  the  number  of  casks.  One  vessel  on  its  ar- 
rival in  the  colony  was  short  sixty-one  and  a  half  casks  out 
of  a  consignment  of  170.  Nothing,  however,  was  done 
to  remedy  the  evil.4 

In  the  province  itself  bad  harvests  followed  hard  upon 
one  another.  The  excessively  rainy  year  of  1737  was  suc- 
ceeded by  one,  the  first  part  of  which  was  very  wet,  whereas 
during  the  remainder  there  was  a  drought,  and  in  1739 
there  was  too  much  moisture  for  the  crops.5 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  8-9,  25,  85-87,  166-169,  173,  207, 
221,  243,  250-251 ;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixix,  fols.  250,  251,  334. 

2  A.,  B.  de,  I' A.,  vol.  4817,  fol.  186. 

3  Supra,  p.  168. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  26-28. 

'"Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-41,  51-54,  121-123;  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137: 
vol.  xxiv,  fol.  207. 


!9I]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        IOyi 

In  1737  the  greater  part  of  the  tobacco  was  grown  at 
Pointe  Coupee, — the  entire  output  being  estimated  at  350,- 
ooo  pounds — and  was  put  upon  the  market  the  next  year, 
one-third  in  rolls  and  the  remainder  in  the  leaf.  For  the 
former  the  growers  demanded  from  twelve  to  fifteen  sols 
a  pound,1  but  for  the  latter  the  merchants  could  be  induced 
to  pay  only  three  sols,  six  deniers.  As  the  last  price  was 
too  low,  the  colonial  officials  requested  the  crown  to  fix  the 
price  at  seven  livres  a  quintal  in  order  to  prevent  the  settlers 
from  abandoning  the  culture  altogether.2  In  1739,  the  plant- 
ers of  Pointe  Coupee  put  only  130,000  pounds  of  tobacco 
on  the  market,  of  which  100,000  were  in  "manoques"  and 
sold  at  four  sols,  six  deniers  a  pound,  and  30,000  in  rolls 
which  brought  from  ten  to  twelve  sols.3  The  output  of 
tobacco  as  well  as  of  other  products,  furthermore,  was  les- 
sened in  1739  by  the  withdrawal  of  300  negroes  from  agri- 
cultural work  for  use  in  the  Chickasaw  War.4  The  home 
government  was  asked  to  repair  this  loss  by  sending  a 
supply  of  negroes  from  Africa.  Since  the  crown  was 
known  to  be  much  interested  in  the  Louisiana  tobacco 
trade,  this  fact  was  put  forth  as  the  reason  for  the 
petition.  In  order  to  impress  it  with  the  importance 
of  such  action,  the  colonial  officials  called  its  attention  to 
the  circumstances  that  France  was,  at  the  time,  drawing 
almost  its  whole  supply  of  tobacco  from  the  English  who 
had  200  vessels  engaged  in  the  traffic  which  amounted  an- 
nually to  70,000  "  boucauts  "  (hogsheads).  The  whole  of 
the  French  side  of  this  trade,  it  was  claimed,  would  fall  to 
Louisiana  if  only  enough  laborers  were  furnished  to  pro- 
duce the  tobacco,  since  the  quality  and  flavor  of  the  article 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13   vol.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-41.  s  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  154. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  10-13. 


IQ2  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IO/2 

grown  in  that  province  were  quite  as  good  as  those  of  Mary- 
land and  Virginia.1 

The  rice  crops  for  1737-1739,  inclusive,  were  light  and 
as  a  result  prices  were  most  unstable.  In  1737  rice  that  in 
the  previous  year  had  been  selling  at  three  livres  a  quintal 
had  advanced  to  seven  livres,  ten  sols,2  and  the  next  year 
went  to  twenty  livres.3  Since  no  improvement  had  been 
made  in  the  methods  of  separating  the  seed  from  the  fiber 
of  the  cotton,4  the  number  of  bales  put  upon  the  market 
during  the  three  years  in  question  had  not  increased  much. 
The  decrease  of  interest  in  cotton  was  extended  to  that  in 
indigo,  which  also  had  suffered  much  from  the  stress  of 
bad  weather.  In  1737,  an  effort  was  made  to  enable  the 
small  farmer  to  enter  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  dyestuff. 
A  merchant  was  granted  a  permit  to  establish  in  Louisiana 
a  factory  where  the  raw  product  could  be  brought  directly 
from  the  fields  and  converted  into  indigo.  The  small 
farmers,  it  seems,  had  not  been  able  to  enter  this  business 
because  they  had  not  a  sufficiency  of  capital  and  labor  to 
establish  and  maintain  factories.  The  scheme,  however, 
was  never  realized.5  In  1737,  indigo  sold  at  four  livres  a 
pound,  which  the  buyers  declared  was  more  than  it  was 
worth.  The  next  year,  however,  both  crops  were  light  and, 
although  there  were  fourteen  or  fifteen  men  around  New 
Orleans  engaged  in  the  growing  of  indigo,  they  were  able 
to  put  upon  the  market  only  about  70,000  pounds  of  it, 
which  sold  at  five  livres  a  pound.6  In  1739  it  was  pre- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  259-278.  . 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  121-123. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137. 

4  Supra,  pp.  177,  184. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  &*.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137- 
•  Ibid. 


193]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        IO.3 

dieted  in  the  early  part  of  the  season  that  the  indigo  crop 
of  these  same  producers  would  be  150,000  pounds.  The 
dry  weather  that  set  in  before  the  plants  were  matured  cut 
the  harvest  to  between  16,000  and  17,000  pounds.  This 
decrease,  however,  did  not  dampen  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
men  engaged  in  the  culture.  At  this  time  they  sent  to  the 
home  government  for  its  approval  and  support  a  plan 
whereby  the  amount  of  indigo  put  upon  the  market  could 
be  increased.1 

While  weather  conditions  had  less  effect  upon  the  output 
of  pitch  and  tar,  there  were  other  and  quite  as  formidable 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  rapid  increase  in  the  annual  pro- 
duction. First  there  was,  as  there  always  had  been,  a  short- 
age in  the  supply  of  vessels  to  carry  the  commodities  to 
France.2  Then  again  the  Choctaw  in  1739  became  un- 
friendly to  the  French  and  it  was  rumored  that  they  in- 
tended to  carry  away  the  negroes  engaged  in  these  indus- 
tries. Thereupon  work  slackened  at  Mobile,  and  at  Lake 
Pontchartrain  was  abandoned  entirely  and  the  negroes 
were  taken  to  a  place  of  safety.3  The  price  of  pitch  and 
tar  during  these  years,  however,  was  most  encouraging  for 
a  large  output;  the  former  was  selling  at  sixteen,  the  latter 
at  twelve  livres,  a  barrel.4  Just  before  the  close  of  the  year 
1739  the  crown  reduced  the  price  of  tar  to  six  livres  a 
quintal  and  pitch  to  six  livres,  five  sols.5  Before  the  cut 
in  the  price  was  known  in  the  province  two  French  mer- 
chants contracted  with  some  of  the  settlers  to  take,  at  the 
old  rates  of  twelve  and  sixteen  livres,  respectively,  all  the 
tar  and  pitch  they  could  put  on  the  market  for  the  next 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  154. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  195-196. 
1  Ibid.,  fols.  134-137,  169-174. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixviii,  fol.  II. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  134-137. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

year  beginning  March  i,  1739.  The  colonists  proposed  to 
hold  the  merchants  to  their  contract,  but  upon  an  appeal 
to  the  home  government  the  case  was  decided  against  them.1 

Although  lumber  had  by  this  time  practically  ceased  to 
form  directly  a  part  of  the  commerce  with  France,  it  was 
indirectly  very  helpful  to  the  advancement  of  trade  with  the 
mother  country,  by  offering  an  inducement  to  French  mer- 
chants to  bring  shiploads  of  European  goods  to  Louisiana 
where  they  could  get  a  cargo  with  which  to  buy  another 
for  the  return  to  France.  From  1737  to  1739,  lumber  for 
building  purposes  had  doubled  in  value.  Planks  that  had 
brought  only  forty  livres  a  hundred  at  the  beginning  of 
the  years  in  question,  at  the  end  were  selling  at  120  livres, 
thus  trebling  in  value.2  Peltry,  however,  greatly  decreased 
in  quantity  due  to  the  war  between  the  French  and  Chick- 
asaw  and  to  the  English  traders  among  the  Choctaw.* 

The  crown  and  the  merchants  on  their  part  also  encoun- 
tered obstacles  in  the  way  of  increasing  the  trade  with 
Louisiana.  In  1738  two  of  the  royal  ships,  and  two  be- 
longing to  the  merchants  were  wrecked  by  storms  during 
their  stay  in  the  province.  In  some  cases  everything  was 
lost,  while  in  others,  only  the  boat  and  part  of  the  cargo 
were  destroyed.4  The  crews,  however,  easily  found  places 
on  other  vessels  bound  for  France,  because  of  the  loss  of 
men  from  yellow  fever  which  at  the  time  was  raging  in  the 
province.  The  great  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  it  was  claimed, 
were  responsible  for  the  spread  of  the  disease.  On  one  of 
the  ships  belonging  to  the  royal  government  forty-eight, 
and  on  another  twenty-two,  of  the  sailors  died  of  the  mal- 
ady and  many  of  the  others  were  too  ill  for  further  service.5 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixviii,  fol.  11. 

*  Ibid.,  S£r.  C"13,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  127,  134-137.  3  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  202-203,  221. 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  166,  207,  243;  A.,  B.  de  FA.,  vol.  4817,  fol.  186. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA,  1731-1763 
(CONTINUED) 

EARLY  in  1740  commerce  between  Louisiana  and  the 
mother  country  was  impeded  somewhat  by  the  English  who 
the  previous  year  had  declared  war  upon  Spain  and  were 
seizing  French  merchant  ships  and  holding  them  for  search 
in  order  to  prevent  a  contraband  trade  with  the  enemy. 
For  example,  a  French  vessel  bound  for  the  province  was 
seized  and  taken  to  Jamaica  where  it  was  held  pending  the 
investigation.1  Except  for  an  increase  from  forty  to  ninety 
livres  a  ton  2  in  the  freight  rate  on  royal  merchandise  sent 
to  the  province  on  private  vessels,  the  commerce  with  France 
was  the  same  as  in  previous  years.  On  the  return  voy- 
ages the  cargoes  were  still  being  carried  to  the  French  West 
Indies  where  they  were  exchanged  for  others  better  suited 
to  the  European  market.3 

During  the  year  there  were  in  Louisiana  seven  merchant 
ships  and  two  belonging  to  the  royal  government.4  One  of 
the  latter,  May  9,  was  the  first  to  arrive,  but  before  the  end 
of  the  month  two  of  the  former  also  had  reached  New  Or- 
leans. One  of  these  had  sprung  a  leak  that  had  caused  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxvi,  fol.  128. 
1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxi,  fols.  104-105. 

*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  388. 

*  A.  AT.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  3-4,  21,  25,  27,  42,  141-143,  165- 
166,  178,  229-231,  238-239;  vol.  xxvi,  fol.  128. 

195]  195 


I96  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [IO,6 

loss  of  the  greater  part  of  the  half-cargo  of  salt  on  board.1 
Two  of  these  three  boats  brought  to  the  province  twenty 
tons  of  wine  which  sold  at  200  and  230  livres  a  cask,  and 
even  when  to  this  amount  was  added  what  the  third  sup- 
plied, there  was  a  shortage  for  the  troops  of  eighteen  tons.2 
Large  consignments  of  flour  had  also  been  despatched ;  but 
even  with  the  6,000  quintals  additional  from  the  Illinois 
country  the  amount  was  inadequate.  Therefore  it  was  sold 
in  New  Orleans  at  seventy  livres  a  "  quart  "  3  and  in  smaller 
quantities  at  nine  sols  a  pound.  885  quintals,  ninety-five 
pounds  of  very  poor  flour  that  a  trader  had  been  holding 
for  five  or  six  months,  hoping  to  secure  a  better  price,  was 
at  this  time  put  upon  the  market  where  it  brought  ten 
livres  a  quintal.  Officials  with  salaries  of  as  much  as  1,800 
livres  were  by  such  prices  reduced  to  a  diet  of  bread  and 
water.4  The  royal  ships  carried  on  the  return  to  France 
cotton,  tobacco,  indigo,  peltry,  and  as  an  experiment  33,000 
brick  worth  between  fourteen  and  fifteen  livres  a  thousand.5 
From  September  n  to  18,  1740,  Louisiana  was  again 
swept  by  storms  that  destroyed  crops  and  property  to  the 
amount  of  20,000  livres.  Rice  that  had  been  selling  for  six 
livres  a  barrel  by  the  end  of  the  year  advanced  to  twelve 
livres.6  The  men  engaged  in  the  production  of  tar  and 
pitch  received  some  encouragement  as  a  partial  offset  to 
the  losses  from  the  storm  by  having  their  tar  in  the  French 
markets  pronounced  of  very  good  quality.  They  were  told, 
however,  that  the  trade  would  be  much  improved  if  the  tar 
were  refined  a  little  more  before  shipment.7 

*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  Cia,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  3-4.     *  Ibid.,  fols.  21-24,  230,  264. 

3  When  applied  to  flour  it  was  160  to  200  pounds. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  21-24,  230,  264. 

5  Ibid.,  f  ol.  177 ;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  387. 
!_•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  66-67,  97,  130. 

7  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  370;  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  B,  vol.  Ixx,  Louisi- 
ane,  fol.  7. 


TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

Had  the  trade  in  tobacco  been  free  from  fraudulent  prac- 
tices, that  article  would  have  sold  readily  at  ten  sols,  six 
deniers  a  pound.  It  was  shipped  in  hogsheads  of  which 
the  weight  and  quality  of  the  contents  were  taken  from  the 
shippers'  statements,  many  of  which  were  found  to  be  false. 
The  "  ordonnateur "  had  already  pointed  out  that  such 
dishonesty  would  only  ruin  the  trade,  yet  the  practice  con- 
tinued. This  official,  accordingly,  issued  an  ordinance 
against  it.  Henceforth  tobacco  was  to  be  received  only  in 
"  monoques  "  or  hogsheads,  the  packing  of  which  was  per- 
formed in  the  presence  of  an  inspector.  On  casks  thus 
filled  and  closed  for  shipment,  this  official  placed  stamps, 
provided  him  by  the  superior  council,  showing  the  weight 
and  quality  of  the  contents.1  This  legislation  caused  men 
of  a  better  type  to  begin  cultivating  tobacco.  In  1740,  five 
or  six  men  gave  up  growing  indigo  around  New  Orleans 
and  went  to  Pointe  Coupee  to  engage  in  raising  tobacco. 
The  output,  it  was  believed,  would  soon  be  considerably 
augmented.2  In  anticipation  of  this  enlarged  production, 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  asked  the  crown  to  make  some  provi- 
sion for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  boats  to  be  used  in 
transporting  the  tobacco  from  the  province.  At  the  same 
time  he  suggested  that  the  simplest  and  most  effective  way 
of  solving  the  freight  problem  would  be  to  throw  the  trade 
open  to  the  Spaniards,  who  would  then  come  to  Louisiana 
to  buy  French  merchandise  for  which  they  would  pay  cash, 
thus  leaving  the  French  ships  free  to  carry  to  the  mother 
country  cargoes  of  tobacco.* 

The  frequent  use  of  inferior  tobacco  in  making  up  the 
rolls  led  the  next  year  to  the  issuing  of  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent ordinance,  which  provided  for  payment  in  accordance 

1  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  390 ;  A.  N.,  C.,  S£r.  B,  vol.  Ixxii,  f ol.  14. 
M.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  Cis,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  15-16.      3  Ibid.,  fols.  150-151. 


I98  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [I98 

with  actual  values.  It  was  decreed  that  henceforth  leaf 
tobacco  only  should  be  shipped  to  France,  but  in  order  to 
give  the  colonists  a  market  for  inferior  grades  the  crown 
was  to  take  a  third  of  the  shipment  from  the  first  crop,  a 
half  from  the  second,  and  a  sixth  or  more  from  the  third. 
The  three  different  sorts  of  tobacco  were  to  be  separated, 
placed  in  piles  and  weighed,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether 
the  above  proportions  were  strictly  adhered  to.  In  cases 
where  they  were  not,  the  inspector  was  instructed  to  take 
the  whole  amount  offered  at  the  price  of  third-grade  tobacco 
and  to  impose  upon  the  offender  any  fine  he  thought  best. 
When  the  consignments  were  made  in  conformity  with  the 
law,  the  inspector  placed  upon  the  tobacco  stamps  issued 
by  the  council,  and  it  was  paid  for  according  to  the  grade 
to  which  it  belonged  as  shown  by  the  stamps.1  The  regu- 
lation seems  to  have  satisfied  the  buyers  in  France ;  at  least 
no  further  complaints  appear. 

The  crown,  in  1741,  had  two  vessels  in  Louisiana.  One 
brought  a  cargo  of  guns  and  other  war  material,  and  car- 
ried back  to  France  a  heavy  cargo  of  colonial  products, 
without  exhausting  by  any  means  the  stock  ready  for  ex- 
port.2 During  the  year  the  merchants  sent  three  vessels  to 
the  province.  The  cargoes  consisted  of  royal  merchandise 
for  which  the  crown  paid  high  freight  rates  and  allowed 
a  "  gratification  "  of  twenty  livres  a  ton  on  similar  goods 
carried  at  their  own  risk.3  Among  the  items  were  dry 
goods,  sufficient  in  quantity  to  enable  the  officials  to  supply 
themselves  with  at  least  the  most  needed  articles  of  cloth- 
ing,4 and  wine  which  sold  at  350,  400  and  even  500  livres 
a  cask  in  European  money  and  for  800  when  paid  for  in 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  24-25. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  9-10,  145-146,  178;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxii,  fol.  4. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  91,  107-109.  *  Ibid.,  fol.  91. 


*99]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        IO/9 

colonial  paper.  All  foodstuffs  were  equally  expensive  and 
wheat  flour  was  such  a  rarity  as  to  have  no  really  fixed 
price,  bread  being  made  from  a  mixture  of  corn  and  rice.1 
The  "  ordonnateur ",  in  fact,  informed  the  crown  that 
there  was  no  other  French  colony  in  which  merchants  dis- 
posed of  their  merchandise  so  advantageously,  selling  as 
they  did  at  100  per  cent  profit  and  in  some  cases  even  at 
400  and  500  per  cent.  He  stated  further  that  one  captain 
had  brought  to  the  colony  a  cargo  valued  in  France  at 
30,000  livres  and  had  left  with  one  worth  100,000,  and  a 
considerable  sum  of  piastres  and  bills  of  exchange  for  the 
remainder  of  his  profits.  He  asserted,  moreover,  that  the 
above  example  was  not  an  isolated  case  but  that  a  second 
such  trader  effected  an  equally  advantageous  exchange  of 
cargoes.2 

Yet  the  owners  of  the  ships  pretended  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  Louisiana  trade,  from  which  they  attempted,  even 
by  dishonest  methods,  to  augment  their  already  large  pro- 
fits. Some  of  the  boats  on  reaching  the  province  had  wine 
on  board  belonging  to  the  crown  that  showed  a  leakage  of 
as  much  as  one-sixth  of  the  amount  (120  pots  each)  the 
casks  were  supposed  to  contain,  and  flour  in  which  the 
weight  of  the  "quarts"  varied  from  155  to  170  pounds, 
which  difference  the  trader  attempted  to  account  for  under 
the  head  of  tare.  Another  captain  sold  wine  and  flour  at 
Cape  Frangais  that  the  crown  had  given  him  permission  to 
carry  only  to  Louisiana  and  had  replaced  those  commodities 
with  "  guildive  ",  meanwhile  collecting  from  the  home  gov- 
ernment a  subsidy  of  twenty  livres  a  ton  on  the  cargo  put 
on  in  France.*  On  examination  of  the  bills  of  exchange 
taken  back  to  France  by  these  persons  the  "  ordonnateur  " 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  128,  165-166,  185. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  107-109.  s  Ibid.,  fols.  165-166. 


200  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2oo 

recommended  to  the  royal  government  to  suspend  the  ex- 
emption on  imports  and  exports  granted  to  the  merchants 
on  September  30,  1732,  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  Acting 
upon  this  advice  the  crown,  December  6,  1741,  discontinued 
the  exemption.1 

The  French  merchants  in  1742  had  four  vessels  trading 
in  Louisiana,  one  at  Mobile  and  three  at  New  Orleans;  but 
no  description  of  the  cargoes  is  given.  The  boats  carried 
lumber  and  other  products  to  Cape  Francois  where  these 
commodities  were  exchanged  for  others  better  suited  to  the 
home  market.2  The  crown  sent  two  ships.  The  first  reached 
Louisiana  on  February  2,  but  nothing  is  told  of  its  cargo 
except  that  100  tons  were  for  the  "  entrepreneur  of  public 
works "  and  were  transported  free  of  freight  charges.3 
The  other  was  seized  by  the  English  and  taken  to  Jamaica 
whence  its  cargo  of  merchandise,  minus  contraband  of  war, 
after  almost  two  months  delay  was  allowed  to  proceed  to 
Louisiana  where  it  arrived  in  August* 

Five  merchant  ships  visited  the  province  in  1743,  bring- 
ing supplies  of  flour  and  wine,  one  cargo  alone  amounting 
to  200  tons.  In  the  sale  of  their  own  merchandise  they 
were  most  avaricious,  or  as  the  "  ordonnateur  "  remarked : 
"  the  merchants  seem  desirous  of  making  a  fortune  out  of 
a  single  venture ;  they  wish  to  receive  only  bills  of  exchange 
or  silver  for  their  merchandise  for  which  they  demand  ex- 
travagant prices  ".5 

On  the  other  hand,  the  home  government  seems  to  have 
sent  but  one  vessel  to  the  colony,  carrying  thither,  flour,  wine 
and  other  merchandise.  It  left  New  Orleans  in  August  with 

1A.N.,C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxii,  fol.  35. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixxv,  fol.  107;  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  38,  109,  142. 
1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  5,  38,  109. 

4  Ibid.,  fols.  78,  122. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  24,  31,  103,  114-115,  145. 


20i ]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        2OI 

400  "  quarts  "  of  tar  costing  twenty-five  livres  a  "  quart  ", 
some  indigo  at  nine  livres  a  pound,  40,000  pounds  of 
tobacco  at  nine  sols  a  pound  and  30,000  pounds  of  lead 
from  the  Illinois  country.  These  commodities  were  sold 
in  France  as  follows:  tobacco,  five  sols  a  pound;  indigo, 
four;  and  tar  for  about  half  the  cost  in  Louisiana.  The 
difference  to  be  sure  was  lessened  somewhat  by  the  price 
for  European  goods.  In  any  event  the  crown  felt  that  the 
development  of  the  province  justified  the  prices  paid.1 

The  home  government,  however,  had  not  neglected 
Louisiana  as  much  as  the  sending  there  but  one  boat  during 
the  year  might  indicate.  It  had  sent  supplies  to  the  prov- 
ince on  the  merchant  ships,  yet  the  amount  was  only  about 
half  of  what  the  colony  needed.  The  shortage  was  in  some 
measure  due  to  the  dishonesty  of  the  merchants  who  had 
been  granted  permits  to  carry  supplies  to  the  province.  The 
captains  of  these  ships  made  stops  at  the  Spanish  West 
Indies  and  coast  settlements  on  their  way  over.  There  they 
sold  to  the  Spaniards  what  they  could  of  the  merchandise 
and  carried  the  remainder  to  Louisiana,  where  they  offered 
it  at  high  prices,  even  securing  from  the  "  ordonnateur  "  a 
certificate  that  entitled  them  to  a  subsidy  on  the  entire  cargo 
as  shipped  from  France.  Before  the  end  of  the  year,  how- 
ever, the  home  government  learned  of  this  abuse  and  sent 
word  to  the  officials  in  question  to  be  more  careful  in  mak- 
ing out  such  documents,  which  were  to  be  granted  only  in 
cases  where  the  goods  were  actually  sold  in  that  province.2 
The  crown  had  also  received  word  from  the  colony  that 
the  casks  still  showed  considerable  leakage,  a  circumstance 
which  made  it  hard  for  the  home  government  to  provide 
what  was  needed  for  the  coming  year,  1744.' 

*  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  20-21,    24,    44;    Sir.    B,    voL 
Ixxviii,  fol.  16. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser,  B,  vol.  Ixxvi,  fol.  2.  s  Ibid.,  vol.  Ixxvii,  fol.  131. 


202  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2Q2 

War  between  France  and  England  which  for  some  time 
had  been  imminent  broke  out  in  1744.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  struggle  France  had  600  vessels  employed  in 
colonial  trade  which  brought  in  150,000,000  livres  annu- 
ally. By  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  the  war  about  one-half 
of  the  ships,  estimated  to  be  worth  90,000,000  livres,  had 
been  taken  as  prizes  by  the  English.  The  mother  country's 
commerce  with  Louisiana,  therefore,  was  greatly  retarded 
while  that  with  New  France  had  to  be  suspended  entirely.1 
The  vessels  bound  for  the  former  province  were  obliged 
for  safety  to  cross  the  ocean  with  ships  going  to  the  West 
Indies.  During  the  year  1744  only  two  boats  found  their 
way  thither  from  Europe,  of  which  one  belonged  to  the 
-crown  while  the  other  was  owned  by  a  merchant  of  Nantes. 
Louisiana,  therefore,  by  October  was  in  need  of  all  kinds 
of  supplies.2 

Considering  the  difficult  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  carried  on,  the  home  government's  share  in  the  Louis- 
iana trade  from  the  end  of  1744  to  the  beginning  of  1750 
was  comparatively  stable.  In  each  of  these  years,  except 
1748  and  1749,  it  sent  out  two  vessels.3  In  the  former 
three  *  of  its  ships  were  in  the  province  and  in  the  latter 
but  one.5  Even  this  showing  cost  the  crown  heavily,  for 
in  spite  of  the  precaution  taken  of  sending  the  boats  in 
squadrons  under  commanding  officers,6  several  of  them  were 
seized  by  the  English.7  In  order  to  keep  itself  informed 

1  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Fr.t  vol.  2006,  fols.  7-12. 
'  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  241,  276-277,  279,  293. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  109-111,  255;  vol.  xxx,  fols.  93,  159;  vol.  xxxi, 
fols.  52,  118. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  4-5,  24-25,  52,  222. 
5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  66,  79,  115. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  13. 

1 1bid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  33,  88-90. 


203]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA       203 

:oncerning  conditions  in  Louisiana  and  the  number  of  ves- 
sels still  flying  the  French  flag,  the  crown  instructed  the 
:aptains  of  its  ships  to  sail  directly  to  and  from  the  prov- 
ince without  stops  at  either  the  French  or  Spanish  West 
[ndies.  Moreover,  the  colonial  officials  were  commanded 
to  delay  the  departure  of  the  royal  ships  only  for  the  most 
pressing  need.  Therefore,  the  greater  number  of  these 
boats,  during  the  war,  remained  only  long  enough  to  take 
Dff  and  put  on  the  cargoes.1  In  many  cases  the  instructions 
were  not  followed,  yet  in  1748  a  "  wise  and  prudent "  cap- 
tain of  one  of  the  royal  ships  made  two  quick  trips  across 
the  ocean  without  stops,  and  remained  in  the  province  only 
a  very  short  time.2 

The  merchandise  consigned  was  not  different  in  kind 
from  that  sent  out  in  previous  years.  There  was,  however, 
a  change  in  the  quantity;  guns,  ammunition,  Indian  goods, 
lard  and  flour  bulked  much  larger.3  In  1745,  a  single 
vessel  brought  to  the  province  400  quintals  of  flour 
valued  at  twenty-seven  livres  a  quintal ; 4  the  next  year 
another  carried  over  a  fraction  over  2,695  quintals.5  In 
1747,  a  royal  boat  and  two  merchant  vessels  when  they 
reached  the  province  had  on  board  3,600  quintals,  a  suffi- 
:iency  for  the  colony  for  the  ensuing  year.6  As  usual  the 
royal  craft  took  from  Louisiana  tobacco,  peltry,  indigo,  tar, 
pitch,  piastres,  logwood,  lead,  and  a  few  other  products  in 
small  amounts.  The  two  government  vessels  that  left  the 
province  for  France  in  1745  carried  such  cargoes  sent  over 
at  the  risk  of  the  owners  of  whom  in  one  case  there  were 
fifteen  local  consignors  and  in  the  other  nineteen,  made  up 
as  follows :  the  local  agents  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies, 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.   B,  vol.  Ixxxvii,  fol.  8. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  51. 

8  Ibid.,  fols.  4-5,  40.  *  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fol.  255. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  144.  •  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  116. 


204  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [204 

traders,  planters,  small  farmers,  the  "  entrepreneur  of  pub- 
lic works  ",  a  major,  a  lieutenant,  and  a  doctor.  Only  the 
agent  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  Rochemore,  Major 
Macarty,  and  Dr.  Prat  had  shipments  on  both  boats.  The 
amounts  paid  the  crown  for  transportation  of  the  former 
cargo  was  9,620  livres,  five  sols,1  and  of  the  latter  5,401 
livres,  ten  sols.2 

1A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C13,   vol.  xxix,  fols.  109-111. 
Freight  bill  for  "  L'Elephant,"  1745 : 

Liv.     Sols, 

976  packs,  deerskins,  4  liv.  a  pack 3904 

56  hhds.,  tobacco,  25  liv.  a  hhd 1400 

8  packs,  buffalo  skins,  4  liv.  a  pack 32 

29  "barriques,"  buffalo  skins,  10  liv.  a  "barrique" 290 

303  "  plaques "  (bars),  lead  free 

52  "  barriques  "  indigo,  15  liv.  a  "  barrique  " 780 

18  "  quarts  "  indigo,  7  liv.  10  cols  a  "  quart " 135 

65500  Ibs.  logwood,  2254  logs,  i  liv.  10  sols  a  quintal 982      10 

6  cases  indigo,  3  liv.  a  case 18 

30  sacks  tobacco,  Spanish,  4  liv.  a  sack  120 

3  "ancres"  (10  gals,  each)  indigo,  3  liv.  10  sols  each. .       II        5 

2  hhd.  of  trees,  I  case  seed  for  royal  garden '  free 

25968  piastres    1947      10 


Totals   9620       5 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  67-70. 

Freight  bill  for  the  "  Chameau,"  1745 : 

Liv.     Sol 

65  "  barriques  "  indigo,  15  liv.  a  "  barrique  "  975 

ii  "quarts"  indigo,  7  liv.  10  sols  a  "quart" 82      10 

i  "tierc.on"  (42  gals.)  indigo,  3  liv.  a  "tierc.on" 3 

3  bbls.  indigo,  7  liv.  10  sols 22      10 

476  packs,  deerskins,  4  liv.  a  pack 1904 

92  hhd.  tobacco,  25  liv.  a  hhd 2300 

219  bars  lead  free 

76594  Ibs.  logwood free 

45  buffalo  skins,  I  liv.  10  sols  each  67      10 

8  packs,  deerskins,  4  liv.  a  pack 32 

i  case,  tobacco  (carottes),  15  liv.  a  case 15 

Totals   5401      10 


205]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        205 

On  the  way  to  France  the  above  vessels  and  cargoes  were 
seized  and  confiscated  by  the  English.  The  loss  of  their 
part  of  these  cargoes  was  too  great  for  the  local  shippers  to 
engage  in  further  ventures  of  the  sort  during  the  continu- 
ance of  the  war.1  Therefore  in  1748  there  were  quantities 
of  tobacco  and  peltry  in  the  province,  but  no  one  was  will- 
ing to  take  the  risk  of  exporting  such  commodities  to 
France.2  The  next  year,  however,  a  vessel  belonging  to 
the  crown  carried  on  the  return  voyage  colonial  products 
at  the  hazard  of  the  European  merchants  who  paid  the 
royal  government  2,440  livres,  three  sols,  three  deniers  in 
freight  charges.3 

During  the  same  years,  1745-1749,  inclusive,  the  mer- 
chants also  sent  boats  to  the  province:  one  each  in  1745 
and  1746,*  four  in  I747,5  one  in  1748,°  and  five  in  I749-7 
These  craft  sailed  from  the  same  ports  as  before  the  war, 
except  that  Marseilles  had  been  added  to  the  list.8  For  the 
most  part  they  were  sent  out  by  the  same  merchants,  yet 
the  royal  officials  from  time  to  time  were  able  to  persuade 
a  merchant  or  commercial  company  to  enter  the  trade.9 
The  boats  were  still  small  and  unable,  therefore,  to  carry 
any  considerable  amount  of  colonial  products.  Moreover, 
the  merchants  preferred  cargoes  made  up  of  logwood, 
sugar  and  Spanish  silver  of  which  there  was  a  great  deal  in 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C18,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  33. 

2  Ibid.,  fol.  52. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  207. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  34-35,  169. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  98,  116-118,  212,  252;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxvi,  fol. 
128. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  253;  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  4-5,  41,  190. 

7  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  4,  49-50,  73,  79,  115. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  49-50. 

9  Ibid. 


206  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2o6 

Louisiana  during  the  war.  In  some  instances  if  such 
cargoes  could  not  be  secured,  bills  of  exchange  were  de- 
manded in  payment.  Otherwise,  the  ships  carried  back 
rice,  cotton,  indigo,  peltry,  tar,  pitch,  pine,  cedar,  cypress 
and  oak  lumber,1 

The  goods  imported  by  the  merchants  were  very  similar 
to  those  brought  thither  before  the  war  broke  out.  One  of 
these  vessels,  in  1747,  carried  over  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  and  nine-sixteenths  tons  on  which  the  crown  agreed  to 
pay  a  "  gratification  ",  which  in  this  case  amounted  to  2,631 
livres,  five  sols.  The  bill,  however,  it  was  understood, 
would  be  paid  only  on  the  presentation  to  the  royal  officials 
of  an  itemized  2  statement  of  the  merchandise  actually  sold 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  p.  10. 
*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  252. 

The  required  statement: 

Tons.  "Bar."    y2"Bar."    * 

352  "  barriques,"  wine,  4  to  ton 88  o  o  o 

5  "ancres"   (10  gals,  each)   brandy 

16  to  ton  oo  i  o  2 

200  bbls.,  flour,  8  to  ton 25  o  o  o 

60  cases,  soap,  40  to  ton i  2  o  o 

no  cases,  molded  candles,  40  to  ton.    230  o 

12  cases,  brandied  fruit o  3  I  o 

25  cases,  capers,  olives,  anchovy I  2  o  o 

50  "  ancres  "  salt  pork,  28  to  ton . . .     i  3  o  o 

50  firkins,  butter,  32  to  ton I  2  o  o 

39  cases,  olive  oil I  I  o  o 

22  bbls.,  goose  thighs  oo  2  o  o 

10  packs,  paper,  linen  i  2  o  o 

5  large  packs,  woolen  cloth 2  i  o  o 

2  hhds.,  hams    oo  3  o  o 

10  bbls.,  salt  beef  I  I  o  o 

2  hhds.,  trumpery,  glass  beads,  etc.  oo  2  o  o 

20  sacks,  salt  oo  o  2  o 

Totals    131  2  o  (sic)      2 


207]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        2O/ 

in  Louisiana,  which  statement  had  to  be  signed  by  the  "  or- 
donnateur  "  of  that  province.1  Another  boat  in  the  same 
year  bore  a  cargo  of  a  little  more  than  164  tons  of  mer- 
chandise even  more  diversified.  It  comprised  wine,  brandy, 
vinegar,  lard,  flour,  butter,  hams,  salt,  beef,  prunes,  limes, 
rope,  nails,  soap,  candlesticks,  glass  goblets,  cork,  hoop- 
wood,  long  saws,  cloth,  handkerchiefs,  stockings,  caps, 
shoes,  Brittany  linen,  white  cloth,  wooled  cloth,  laces,  and 
150  pairs  of  silk  stockings.2  For  the  transportation  and 
delivery  in  Louisiana  of  about  sixty-one  tons  of  flour, 
munitions  and  other  merchandise  owned  by  itself  the 
crown,  the  next  year,  paid  a  merchant  of  La  Rochelle,  at  a 
freight  rate  of  140  livres  a  ton,  8,618  livres,  fifteen  sols.a 
In  March  the  "  ordonnateur  "  informed  the  home  govern- 
ment that  the  captain  of  the  serviceable  "  Comte  de  Maure- 
pas  "  4  had  delivered  the  supplies  in  question,5  In  1749,  a 
merchant  vessel  brought  to  Louisiana  for  the  home  gov- 
ernment 1,499  quintals,  sixty-five  pounds  of  flour,  guns, 
flints,  rope,  and  all  sorts  of  wine  and  brandy.6 

By  1750,  more  than  100  vessels  had  come  to  the  prov- 
ince from  different  ports.  This  influx,  however,  was  not 
altogether  satisfactory.  The  colony  was  glutted  with  all 
kinds  of  merchandise  except  goods  suited  for  building  up 
the  Indian  trade.  Because  of  this  over  supply  the  boats 
were  forced  to  make  long  stays  in  order  to  have  their 
cargoes  sold,  or  were  obliged  to  leave  the  goods  in  the 
hands  of  an  agent.  Some  of  the  captains  of  the  ships  pre- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  252. 

3  Ibid.,  fol.  212. 

1  Ibid.,  fol.  252-253. 

4  Supra,  p.  185. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  4-5. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  4. 


2oS  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2o8 

ferred  to  carry  the  stuff  away  with  them  rather  than  to 
employ  either  of  these  alternatives.1 

From  1743  to  1750  the  seasons  were  the  most  favorable 
for  agriculture  that  the  province  had  experienced,  there- 
fore the  harvests  were  large.  Indigo  had  improved  in  both 
quantity  and  quality,  and  at  the  same  time  the  price  had 
advanced  from  four  livres  in  1741  to  nine  livres  in  1743," 
hence  it  was  a  profitable  crop  and  much  of  the  commodity 
was  put  upon  the  market.3  Throughout  the  period  in  ques- 
tion the  producers  spared  neither  time  nor  labor  in  their 
attempts  to  improve  further  the  quality  and  to  increase  the 
size  of  the  harvests  of  this  staple.4  In  1749,  however,  the 
trade  was  believed  to  be  in  danger.  The  English  parlia- 
ment had  placed  a  bounty  of  six  shillings  on  indigo  pro- 
duced in  its  American  colonies  and  it  was  feared  smuggling 
operations  would  spring  up  to  the  injury  of  the  French 
article.5 

The  production  of  tobacco  was  easier  and  much  less  ex- 
pensive than  that  of  indigo,  therefore,  during  these  favor- 
able seasons  much  of  the  former  commodity  was  gotten 
ready  for  exportation.6  By  1747  quantities  of  it  had  ac- 
cumulated at  Pointe  Coupee  and  New  Orleans  because  of  a 
shortage  of  vessels  in  which  to  transport  it  to  France. 
Being  unable  to  dispose  of  the  two  previous  years'  crops, 
the  farmers,  because  of  need,  low  prices,  and  discrimina- 
tions against  tobacco  at  the  port  of  shipment,  were  contem- 
plating abandoning  the  culture.  The  governor,  however, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C15,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  269,  297-300. 
zlbid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  17-19,  21-22;  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  103;  vol.  xxx, 
fol.  71. 

3  Supra,  p.  204. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  271-272;  vol.  xxx,  fol.  112. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  5-7. 
4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  274. 


209]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        2Og 

succeeded  in  having  them  continue  the  work  by  assuring 
them  he  would  do  what  he  could  to  have  the  home  govern- 
ment adjust  the  matter  satisfactorily.  Vaudreuil,  there- 
upon, informed  the  crown  of  the  grievances  of  the  farmers 
engaged  in  this  industry  and  of  the  fact  that  the  captains 
on  royal  ships  had  taken  on  cargoes  of  sugar  and  logwood 
when  at  the  time  there  were  400  hogsheads  of  Pointe 
Coupee  tobacco  on  the  wharf  ready  for  shipment.  He  then 
requested  the  crown  to  uphold  him  in  his  promises  to  the 
tobacco  growers,  by  instructing  the  commanders  of  its  ves- 
sels coming  to  the  province  to  give  this  staple  preference 
over  other  commodities  in  making  up  cargoes  for  France 
and  by  issuing  an  ordinance  commanding  the  "  fermier 
general  of  tobacco  "  to  take  this  import  from  Louisiana  at 
six  sols  a  pound,  a  price  which  the  governor  asserted  would 
satisfy  the  producers  and  advance  greatly  the  colony  as  a 
whole.  Tobacco  was  the  sole  export,  excepting  cotton, 
as  the  crown  had  previously  been  informed,  which  the 
small  farmer  with  one,  or  at  most  two,  slaves  was  able  to 
produce.1 

The  crown,  it  seems,  instructed  its  captains  bound  for 
Louisiana  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  Governor  Vaud- 
reuil and  also  took  up  the  matter  with  the  French  mer- 
chants who  agreed  to  send  vessels  to  the  province.2  It  in- 
formed them  how  to  proceed  so  as  to  make  such  ventures 
profitable.3  By  way  of  encouragement,  November  25, 
1748,  it  renewed  for  six  years  the  exemption  granted  such 
ships  from  carrying  to  Louisiana  men  and  guns.4  The  lack 
of  boats  from  France  to  the  province  during  the  war  was 
due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  merchants  had  found  it 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  74-75- 
1  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxvii,  fol.  10. 
*Ibid.,  fols.  29-30.  4  Ibid. 


2io  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2io 

quite  as  profitable,  and  the  risk  from  seizure  much  reduced, 
if  they  arranged  to  have  the  cargoes  carried  to  the  French 
West  Indies,  where  it  was  comparatively  easy  to  form  con- 
voys for  the  voyage  to  and  from  France  large  enough  to 
afford  some  protection  from  the  English,  whereas  to  ship 
them  to  Louisiana  direct  was  much  more  difficult.1  In 
1749  the  governor  reported  to  the  home  government  that 
there  was  at  the  time  no  tobacco  in  the  province.  This 
commodity,  together  with  much  indigo,  he  asserted,  had 
been  carried  to  France  by  three  merchant  ships  and  one 
belonging  to  the  crown.2 

Cotton,  the  other  staple  of  the  farmer  of  small  means, 
was  not  increased  much  during  the  period  under  discussion. 
As  already  observed,  a  gin  had  not  yet  been  invented  that 
would  with  rapidity  separate  the  seed  from  the  fiber ;  there- 
fore since  the  farmer  could  seed  only  a  limited  amount  he 
grew  only  what  he  could  treat  in  that  fashion.  In  1848, 
however,  the  report  of  a  satisfactory  gin  operating  in 
France s  led  some  of  the  growers  of  Louisiana  to  send  over 
a  quantity  of  raw  cotton  to  test  the  new  machine.  At  the 
end  of  the  war  the  results  of  this  experiment  were  not 
known  and  nothing  further  appears  to  have  been  done  in 
the  matter.*  The  exports  of  peltry  and  pitch  and  tar  had 
during  the  war  been  disturbed  by  Choctaw  hostility. 

The  exports  of  Louisiana  to  France  from  1743  to  1746, 
inclusive,  were  estimated  as  follows;  55,000  pounds  of 
peltry  at  thirty  sols  a  pound,  82,500  livres ;  200,000  quintals 
of  indigo  at  three  livres  a  quintal,  600,000  livres;  170,000 
pounds  of  tobacco  at  three  sols,  six  deniers  a  pound,  29,750 

1  Pownal,  App.,  p.  20. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Sfr.  C13,  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  66. 

'  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  191 ;  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  165. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxi,  Louisiane,  fol.  7. 


2i  i]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LO U1SIANA        2 1 1 

livres.  To  these  exports  must  also  be  added  what  the  colo- 
nists sent  annually  on  the  royal  ships  at  their  own  risk, 
amounting  in  value  to  approximately  100,000  livres.  The 
combined  exports,  therefore,  were  worth  about  812,250 
livres.1  Two  other  writers  of  the  time  each  estimated  the 
peltry  exported  at  about  200,000  pounds,  one  placing  the 
tobacco  and  indigo  at  300,000  and  the  other  the  tobacco  at 
450,000,  and  the  indigo  at  240,000  pounds.  These  exports 
the  latter  claimed  made  only  two  or  three  good  cargoes.2 
However  conscientiously  such  statements  may  have  been 
made,  there  were  complaints  of  a  shortage  of  vessels  for 
the  exportation  of  tobacco.3  Moreover,  in  order  to  relieve 
the  congestion  in  pitch  and  tar  at  Mobile,  the  crown  was 
requested  in  1749  to  send  thither  two  ships  of  200  tons  an- 
nually with  foodstuffs  and  other  merchandise  to  exchange 
for  the  lumber,  tar,  pitch,  and  silver  accumulating  at  the 
port.4 

During  the  period  beginning  1750  and  ending  1754  the 
home  government  annually  despatched  vessels  to  Louisiana. 
One  such  boat  reached  the  province  in  1750,°  three  in 
1751,°  two  each  in  1752,  1753  and  I754-7  They  carried 
food  supplies,  ammunition  and  merchandise  and  in  most 
cases  officers  and  recruits  for  the  colonial  army.8  At  the 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fol.  242. 

1  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii,  fol.  108;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fol.  113. 

3  Supra,  p.  208. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C18,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  222-227. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  297,  310. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  7,  24,  73,  194,  342. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  3-4,  121;  vol.  xxxvii,  fols.  34,  57,  137-138, 
151 ;  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  6,  90,  141-142. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  310;  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  24,  73,  194;  vol.  xxxvi, 
fol.  27;  vol.  xxxvii,  fol.  277;  Ser.  B,  vol.  xcviii,  fols.  310;  vol.  xcix, 
fol.  3. 


212  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [212 

beginning  of  hostilities  with  England  voyages  to  the  colony 
became  hazardous ;  hence  the  captains  of  royal  ships  bound 
for  Louisiana  were  instructed  to  make  no  calls  at  the  West 
Indies,  except  for  an  absolute  need  for  water  or  in  case  the 
vessel  were  badly  disabled.  The  commanders  were  further 
instructed  to  set  sail  from  the  province  as  soon  as  the  cargo 
was  taken  off  and  another  put  on,  unless  orders  from  Gov- 
ernor Kerlerec  should  be  received  to  remain  longer.  The 
colonial  officials  on  their  part  were  ordered  to  hold  vessels 
in  the  province  only  when  they  were  sure  they  could  give 
a  satisfactory  reason  for  doing  so.1 

In  May,  1754,  one  of  the  royal  ships  left  Louisiana  with 
a  cargo  made  up  in  part  of  logwood  belonging  to  a  French 
merchant.  As  the  wood  was  not  on  the  certified  inventory 
made  by  the  "  ordonnateur  "  for  the  royal  officials,  it  was 
believed  to  have  been  put  on  board  clandestinely  and  fraud- 
ulently, hence  should  be  confiscated.  The  crown,  however, 
waived  the  right  and  allowed  the  merchant,  on  payment 
of  freight  charges  at  a  rate  previously  fixed  by  the  "  or- 
donnateur "  on  that  commodity,  to  receive  the  logwood.2 

During  the  same  years  twenty-eight  merchant  ships 
came  to  Louisiana:  five  in  I/5O,3  then  six,4  four,5 
ten,6  and  three,7  respectively,  in  the  years  following. 
They  sailed  from  La  Rochelle,  Bordeaux,  Marseilles, 
Dunkerque,  St.  Malo  and  Bayonne.  Besides  the  car- 
goes of  troops,  ammunitions  and  supplies  carried  for 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xcviii,  fols.  308-309. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  c,  fol.  S3- 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xci,  fol.  2;  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  310,  346,  359,  361,  365. 
4  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  4,  24,  56,  73,  164,  194,  340. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  10,  64,  84,  177,  277. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvii,  fols.  25,  28,  34,  57,  60,  71,  157;  Sir.  B,  vol.  xcviii, 
fols.  06,  230. 

7  Ibid.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  26,  27,  53,  88. 


213]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA       213 

the  royal  government,  as  before,1  the  merchant  ves- 
sels brought  to  the  colony  merchandise  on  their  own 
account.  One  such  cargo  in  1751  consisted  of  750  barrels 
of  flour,  100  barrels  of  lard  and  50  plowshares.2  In  order 
to  increase  the  amount  of  freight  taken  on  board,  the  own- 
ers and  possibly  captain,  with  the  connivance  of  the  port 
inspector  at  Rochefort,  had  caused  the  boat  to  be  loaded  in 
a  most  unprofitable  way.  In  the  bottom  of  the  hold  was 
placed  a  consignment  of  coal  upon  which  without  dunnage 
were  packed  barrels  of  flour  belonging  to  the  crown.  Dur- 
ing the  voyage  the  rolling  of  the  ship  caused  the  first  layer 
of  barrels  to  work  down  into  the  leakage  soaked  coal. 
As  a  result  eighty-three  "  quarts  "  of  flour  were  totally 
destroyed.3 

The  following  year  the  ships  were  late  in  reaching  Louis- 
iana, a  circumstance  that  made  European  supplies  scarce 
and  increased  their  price.  Not  a  single  vessel  came  before 
July;  though  a  little  later  fifteen  arrived  almost  at  the 
same  time.  Since  several  of  them  were  not  from  France, 
the  amount  of  merchandise  in  the  province  was  too  scanty 
to  meet  all  demands  and  yet  leave  in  Louisiana  a  sufficiency 
of  European  goods  to  bring  down  prices.4  At  the  end  of 
the  year  wine  was  selling  for  400  livres  a  cask  and  flour  at 
twenty  livres  a  hundredweight.5  In  the  preceding  year  the 
crown  had  issued  for  the  province  a  new  set  of  regulations, 
one  of  which,  though  simply  a  restatement  of  an  old  law,8 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  310;  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  24,  164, 
194;  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  62-63,  177. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  340. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  177. 
4  Ibid.,  fols.  229,  269. 
6  Ibid.,  fol.  334- 
6  Supra,  p.  166. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[214 


was  of  value  at  this  time  in  keeping  the  trade  in  European 
merchandise  out  of  the  hands  of  speculators.  Punishment 
to  the  offender  and  confiscation  of  the  merchandise  were 
made  the  penalty  for  a  person  to  go  on  board  the  vessel 
before  landing  at  New  Orleans.  It  was  desired  to  give 
everyone  in  the  village,  at  least,  an  equal  chance  to  buy 
goods  at  first  hand.1 

For  the  most  part  the  French  merchants  disposed  of  their 
wares  to  advantage,  exchanging  them  for  lumber,  Spanish 
smoking  tobacco,  logwood,  sugar,  cotton,  indigo,  myrtle- 
wax,  and  native  tobacco  and  an  unusually  large  supply  of 
peltry.2  Cargoes  made  up  of  a  diversified  stock  like  this, 
were  a  decided  advantage  to  the  colony  as  a  whole  over  one 
made  up  entirely  of  tobacco.  In  the  latter  case  a  vessel 
bringing  imports  valued  at  100,000  to  300,000  livres  could 
carry  away  only  20,000  livres  worth  of  tobacco,  thereby,  as 
has  been  shown,  causing  difficult  financial  problems.3 

From  the  beginning  of  1750  to  the  opening  of  hostilities 
with  England  in  1754,  Louisiana  was  comparatively  fortu- 
nate in  its  productions  for  export.  The  season  of  1750, 
while  unfavorable  to  the  corn  crop,  was  most  admirably 
suited  to  the  culture  of  rice  ;  consequently  there  was  plenty 
of  it  as  food  for  the  slaves  and  some  to  put  upon  the 
market.4  In  1752  the  season  was  variable.  The  province 
was  visited  by  numerous  and  very  severe  storms  that  did 
much  damage  to  the  harvests,  yet  without  affecting  greatly 
the  supply  of  corn  and  rice,  because  of  the  large  number  of 
farmers  that  had  this  year  planted  them.5  In  1753  the  crops 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  46. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  270. 

3  Ibid.,  fols.  327-328;  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii,  fol.  198.  Supra,  pp. 
181,  204. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  297-298,  307. 
5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  228,  271. 


21 5]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        215 

were  again  light.1  They  were  followed  in  1754  by  a  year 
in  which  there  was  a  splendid  yield.2  In  1750  the  amount 
of  indigo  raised  was  very  large,  though  much  of  it  was 
destroyed  by  a  storm  that  occurred  just  at  the  harvest  time. 
The  supply  in  1752  was  again  lessened  by  a  storm  and  too 
great  an  amount  of  rainfall.  This  diminution,  however, 
was  in  part  balanced  by  an  increase  in  the  quantity  planted. 
The  shortage  also  was  compensated  for  by  excellent  prices ; 
the  rate  being  from  100  to  105  sols  a  pound.9  Such  prices 
increased  the  number  of  producers.  On  September  21, 
1754,  the  "  ordonnateur  "  estimated  the  amount  for  the 
year  at  50,000  pounds.  At  the  time  the  first  crop  was 
already  on  the  market,  where  it  brought  the  farmer  five 
livres,  ten  sols  and  in  some  cases  six  livres  a  pound.4  An- 
other writer  at  this  time  states  that  there  were  in  the  prov- 
ince forty-seven  planters,  each  owning  an  indigo  factory, 
and  estimates  the  total  output  for  the  year  at  82,000  pounds, 
which  he  asserted  was  then  selling  at  the  price  above  quoted.5 
In  1750  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  grown  in  the  province 
was  good  but  the  yield  light.6  The  home  government,  there- 
upon, attempted  to  advance  the  trade  in  this  commodity  and 
at  the  same  time  to  further  the  development  of  the  colony 
as  a  whole  by  providing  an  easy  and  advantageous  market 
for  it  in  France.  Such  an  outlet,  it  was  claimed,  would 
cause  much  more  land  to  be  cleared  each  year  and  hence  a 
considerable  increase  in  the  acreage  devoted  to  the  indus- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvii,  fols.  70-71. 

1  Ibid.,  xxxviii,  fols.  26,  176-177. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  297-298,  349;  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  228,  271. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  176-177. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  262. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  297-300. 


2i6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2l6 

try.  To  this  end  the  crown  for  a  certain  consideration 
granted  a  license  to  Jean  Girardin  whose  duty  was  to  find 
buyers  for  Louisiana  tobacco.  The  time  of  the  permit  was 
to  begin  October  i,  1750,  and  to  terminate  September  30, 
1756.  For  each  quintal  of  such  tobacco  sold  and  delivered 
the  royal  government  agreed  to  deduct  fifty  sols  from  the 
sum  paid  for  the  privilege.  In  addition  he  was  to  receive 
four  per  cent  on  the  selling  price  from  the  owner  of  the 
commodity.  Since  1738  the  "  fermier  general  "  of  tobacco 
in  France  had  been  obliged  to  pay  twenty-five  livres  a 
quintal,  net  weight,  for  Louisiana  tobacco,  which  was 
more  than  that  paid  for  the  foreign  article,  therefore, 
the  former  often  remained  some  time  in  the  warehouses 
before  it  was  used.  Notwithstanding  the  amount  paid  for 
tobacco  in  the  past,  the  crown  at  this  time  fixed  it  at  thirty 
livres  a  quintal,  net  weight ;  twenty-seven  livres,  ten  sols  of 
which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  "  fermier  general  ",  and  by 
the  royal  government  two  livres,  ten  sols,  so  as  to  cover  the 
expense  incurred  in  handling  the  article  at  the  French  ports 
where  it  was  to  be  received  and  placed  in  the  warehouses 
of  the  "  fermier  general "  and  locked  up  until  it  was  sold. 
What  was  not  disposed  of  by  Girardin,  if  of  good  quality, 
was  to  be  taken  by  the  "  fermier  general  ",  at  the  rate 
stipulated  above.  To  guard  against  any  irregularities  that 
might  enter  the  trade,  the  crown  still  further  stipulated 
conditions  under  which  it  should  be  carried  on,  by  ordering 
that  the  tobacco  from  the  province  should  be  shipped  either 
in  leaf  or  "  monoque  ".  Moreover  it  was  to  be  landed 
only  at  the  ports  of  Calais,  Dieppe,  Havre,  Honfleur,  St. 
Malo,  Morlaix,  Brest,  Nantes,  La  Rochelle,  Bordeaux, 
Bayonne,  Cette,  Marseilles,  Dunkerque  and  Vannes.  If 
shipped  to  any  other  port  the  owner  was  not  to  be  allowed 
the  exemption  of  thirty  sols  a  pound,  the  duty  charged  on 
foreign  tobacco  since  May  4,  1749.  Violations  of  the  above 


217]      TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA       217 

rules  were  to  be  punished  by  confiscation  of  the  tobacco 
and  by  a  fine  of  1,000  livres.1 

The  next  year  the  tobacco  crop  at  Pointe  Coupee  was 
large  and  of  good  quality.  The  "  ordonnateur  "  informed 
the  crown  that  there  was  a  vessel  there  ready  to  transport 
it  to  France  and  that  the  outlook  for  the  future  of  that 
trade  was  promising.2 

The  fine  quality  of  Louisiana  cotton  alone  kept  alive 
among  the  planters  the  hope  that  eventually  it  would  be 
made  a  paying  export.  Each  year  a  little  was  sent  to 
France  and  continued  effort  was  exerted  to  find  some  sort 
of  device  whereby  the  seed  could  be  separated  from  the 
fiber.  In  1752  the  "  entrepreneur  of  public  works  "  of  the 
province  invented  such  a  machine  and  was  trying  it  out  on 
his  plantation  near  New  Orleans.3  This  same  year  the 
farmers  around  the  capital  were  making  another  experi- 
ment. They  had  begun  the  myrtle-wax  industry  and  al- 
ready there  were  a  great  number  of  small  fields  planted 
and  most  of  these  were  to  be  enlarged  the  following  year. 
It  was  believed  by  them  that  the  wax  would  soon  be  ex- 
ported to  France  and  elsewhere,  and  already  small  amounts 
had  been  shipped.4 

During  the  period  under  consideration  the  trade  with 
France  and  other  ports  was  estimated  at  2,056,000  livres, 
made  up  as  follows:  indigo,  82,000  pounds,  at  five  livres 
a  pound,  410,000  livres;  200  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  800 
pounds  each,  160,000  pounds,  at  twenty-two  livres,  ten  sols 
a  quintal,  36,000  livres;  piastres,  300,000  livres;  peltry, 

1  Arrest  du  Conseil  d'etat  du  Roy,  Octobre  13,  1750,  Newberry  Lib., 
Chicago. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  229. 
8  Ibid.,  fol.  272. 
4  Ibid.,  fol.  229. 


.2i8  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2i8 

250,000  livres;  myrtle-wax,  25,000  livres;  bear's  oil, 
25,000  livres;  pitch  and  tar,  30,000  livres;  lumber,  180,000 
livres;  and  bills  of  exchange  amounting  to  800,000  livres.1 
For  the  year  1754  the  value  of  the  tobacco  shipment  to 
France  was  stated  to  have  been  50,000  livres,  of  indigo 
120,000  livres,  and  that  of  peltry  30,000  livres,  making  a 
total  for  the  year  of  200,000  livres  in  these  three  exports.2 

As  early  as  1755,  the  war  was  showing  its  effects  upon 
Louisiana  trade.  During  the  year  there  came  from  France 
to  the  province  no  royal  boats  and  but  one  belonging  to  the 
merchants,  and  that  one  escaped  the  ravages  of  war  only 
to  be  destroyed  by  a  storm  as  it  was  entering  the  Mississippi 
river.  The  greater  part  of  the  merchandise  on  board, 
some  of  which  was  owned  by  the  crown,  was  saved.3  The 
next  year  six  vessels  left  France  for  the  colony  loaded 
with  royal  consignments  of  ammunition,  foodstuffs  and 
troops.4  The  freight  bill  for  one  of  these  shipments  was 
3,415  livres,  sixteen  sols.5  For  two  other  bills,  one,  at  158 
livres  a  ton,  was  5,689  livres,  fifteen  sols,  three  deniers  and 
the  second,  at  180  livres  a  ton,  amounted  to  15,692  livres, 
two  sols,  ten  deniers.  When  these  two  particular  bills 
were  presented  for  payment  the  royal  government  saw  no 
reason  for  such  a  difference  in  rates  when  the  voyages  were 
made  only  two  months  apart,  and  proceeded  forthwith  to 
equalize  them  on  the  basis,  naturally,  of  the  lower  rate.6 

In  1757  there  seem  to  have  been  no  vessels  from  France 
in  Louisiana.  In  March  of  the  following  year  a  merchant 

1  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  262,  265. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xl,  fols.  6-7;  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii,  fol.  233. 
8  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol..  xxxix,  fol.  74. 

'Ibid.,  fols.  140,  213,  223;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11335,  fols.  97-141;  vol. 
11336,  fol.  106. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  S6r.  C13,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  213. 
•  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11335,  fols.  141,  142. 


2i9J       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA        219 

ship  from  Bordeaux  reached  the  province.1  There  were 
no  further  arrivals  until  August,  when  two  frigates  be- 
longing to  the  crown  and  a  merchant  boat  reached  New 
Orleans.  On  leaving  France  the  convoy  had  comprised 
two  more  freighters,  but  they  had  been  lost  en  route.  The 
empty  colonial  storehouses  and  ammunition  supply,  there- 
fore, were  not  fully  replenished,  for  besides  the  disaster  at 
sea,  the  vessels  had  left  in  the  warehouses  at  Rochefort 
700  tons  of  royal  merchandise  put  there  for  shipment  by 
the  home  government  on  the  request  of  the  governor  of 
the  province.2 

By  1759  the  trade  with  France  was  greatly  diminished. 
As  early  as  February  the  troops  were  put  on  half  rations. 
At  the  time  flour  was  selling  at  250  livres  a  "  quart  ",  wine, 
900  livres  a  cask,  with  all  other  supplies  equally  as  expen- 
sive.3 In  June  a  vessel  from  Bayonne  reached  New  Or- 
leans with  a  cargo  of  150  tons  so  varied  in  its  make-up  as 
to  meet,  in  part,  the  needs  of  persons  in  every  class  of 
society.  The  governor,  observing  the  fact,  at  once  secured 
from  the  captain  of  the  ship  a  promise  to  sell  the  entire 
stock  at  retail,  thereby  giving  everyone  in  the  village  an 
equal  chance  to  make  purchases  without  paying  the  middle- 
man's profit.  Coming  under  the  corrupting  influence  of 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  the  commander  broke  his  promise  and 
sold  the  whole  cargo  for  250,000  livres  to  Rochemore,* 
who  in  turn  disposed  of  it  at  retail  at  400,000  livres.5 

Such  prices  as  were  thus  demanded  for  merchandise,  the 
governor  claimed,  threatened  the  very  life  of  the  colony 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xl,  fols.  31,  32. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  34,  37,  62,  63,  182 ;  Str.  B,  pt.  2,  cviii,  f ol.  3. 
s  Ibid.,  5Vr.  C13,  vol.  xli,  fols.  30,  76. 

*  Supra,  p.  147. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Sfr.  C18,  vol.  xli,  fols.  120,  122. 


220  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [220 

and  justified  him  in  buying  supplies  from  whomsoever  he 
could,  even  from  the  English  enemy.  The  "  ordonnateur  " 
and  his  faction,  naturally,  since  they  had  practically  all 
there  was  to  sell,  stood  strongly  for  the  confiscation  of  all 
vessels  and  cargoes  found  in  Louisiana  belonging  to  for- 
eigners.1 The  conduct  of  that  officer  in  this,  as  well  as  in 
most  of  his  other  acts,  had  made  him  thoroughly  hated  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  population.2  In  response  to  many 
protests  against  his  maladministration,  as  already  observed,8 
the  crown  finally  recalled  the  "  ordonnateur  "  who,  how- 
ever, did  not  leave  the  province  until  some  time  later. 
The  war  beyond  the  borders  of  the  province  was  even 
less  distracting  to  trade  than  the  one  waged  at  New 
Orleans  between  the  two  factions  among  the  colonial 
officials.*  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Rochemore  at  New 
Orleans,  it  seems,  he  and  the  governor  had  formed  a 
plan  whereby  they  believed  the  home  government  could 
save  annually  at  least  10,419  livres  and  at  the  same  time 
have  the  trade  between  France  and  the  province  better 
administered.  This  scheme  provided  for  a  commercial 
company  to  be  formed  and  put  into  control  of  the  trade 
of  the  province.  This  project  was  not  adopted  by  the  royal 
government  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  governor  and 
"  ordonnateur  "  ever  came  to  another  agreement  upon  that 
or  any  other  matter  during  the  latter's  term  of  office.  As 
a  result  of  this  situation  trade  conditions  in  Louisiana  went 
from  bad  to  worse.5 

Disputes  over  trading  matters  were  frequent  and  of  a 
violent   and   disgraceful   character.      Such   disagreements 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  fol.  30;  Str.  F8,  vol.  xxv,  foL  35. 
1  Ibid.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  xli,  fol.  32;  Ser.  F8,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  101,  105. 
8  Supra,  p.  146.  4  Supra,  pp.  146-149. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Sfr.  C",  vol.  xli,  fol.  8. 


22 1  ]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LO  UISIANA        22 1 

were  adjusted  by  the  "  ordonnateur's  "  secretary  who  de- 
cided in  favor  of  the  contestant  who  agreed  to  pay  him  the 
larger  sum  of  money.  The  "  ordonnateur  ",  in  direct  dis- 
obedience to  the  royal  instructions,  began  to  discriminate 
against  the  French  merchants  in  drawing  bills  of  exchange.1 
In  violation  of  law  also  he  bought  up  further  entire  cargoes 
of  European  goods  which  he  placed  in  his  own  private 
warehouse  and  retailed  to  the  people  of  the  colony,  pocket- 
ing the  receipts.  For  example,  he  purchased  a  cargo  of 
"  guildive  "  for  the  royal  account  which  he  disposed  of  on 
his  own  account  at  a  very  high  price.  In  another  instance 
a  cargo  of  salt  was  sold  to  a  merchant  of  New  Orleans. 
The  "  ordonnateur  "  on  learning  of  the  transaction  ordered 
the  whole  consignment  to  be  sold  to  him,  presumably  for  a 
supply  for  the  troops.  The  salt  instead  found  its  way  to 
the  people  through  the  private  warehouse  of  that  official 
who  put  the  receipts,  at  the  price  of  three  sols,  six  deniers  a 
pound,  into  his  own  coffers.2  When  there  were  no  cargoes 
to  buy  for  the  crown  and  sell  as  private  goods  the  "  ordon- 
nateur "  took  merchandise  out  of  the  royal  storehouses 
and  similarly  disposed  of  it,  always  at  very  excessive 
rates.3 

Three  other  vessels  before  the  end  of  the  year  left 
France  for  Louisiana,  two  owned  by  the  crown,  the  other 
by  a  merchant,  all  carrying  ammunition  and  recruits  for 
the  army.  The  latter  ship  and  cargo,  on  which  the  royal 
government  paid  freight  charges  at  the  rate  of  167  livres  a 
ton,  was  seized  by  the  English  on  the  outward  voyage.4 

Early  in  January,   1760,  a  royal  ship  and  a  merchant 

1  Supra,  pp.  146-147. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F«,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  101,  105. 

*  Ibid.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  xli,  fols.  147-149. 

*  Ibid.,  fol.  323;  Str.  B,  vol.  cxii,  pt.  2,  fol.  109;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol. 
11334,  fols.  187-188. 


222  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [222 

boat  reached  New  Orleans  with  enough  supplies  to  meet 
the  most  pressing  needs.1  The  following  month  the  crown 
ordered  sent  out  under  convoy  from  Bordeaux  a  number 
of  vessels  with  cargoes  of  merchandise  for  New  France 
and  Louisiana.  Navigation  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  the 
time  was  most  uncertain,  but  that  on  the  St.  Lawrence 
river  was  far  more  hazardous.  Therefore  the  commander 
in  charge  of  the  convoy,  and  the  captains  of  the  other 
ships  bound  for  the  former  province,  were  instructed  to 
sail  for  the  southern  colony  if  they  could  not  reach  the 
northern,  the  merchandise  on  board  being  selected  to  make 
such  a  change  of  destination  possible.2  Whether  sent  out 
under  this  command  or  not,  at  least  a  number  of  boats 
left  France  during  the  year  for  both  Quebec  and  New  Or- 
leans. There  seems  to  be  no  evidence  that  any  of  those 
bound  for  Louisiana  ever  reached  that  port.3  The  ships 
that  arrived  in  the  province  at  the  end  of  the  previous  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  year  were  ready  to  sail  for 
France  by  the  end  of  April.  They  were  detained  longer 
because  of  the  arrival  just  at  that  time  of  a  report  that 
Quebec  had  fallen.  The  next  month  Governor  Kerlerec 
held  two  war  councils  in  which  it  was  decided  to  arm  these 
crafts,  two  royal  frigates  and  a  merchant  boat,  and  supply 
them  with  food  for  five  weeks,  for  the  purpose  of  ousting  an 
English  man-of-war  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miss- 
issippi which  had  been  shutting  off  communication  with  the 
mother  country.  In  the  encounter  the  French  were  vic- 
torious and  the  English  were  driven  out.4  With  the  en- 
trance to  the  Mississippi  open  once  more,  trade  between 
France  and  Louisiana  was  resumed.  On  December  19, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O»,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  56-57,  93- 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cxi,  fol.  i. 

*  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11336,  fols.  106,  171,  193-194. 
'A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  56-57,  93-96. 


223]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

1760,  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  crown  set  sail  for  France 
with  two  "  quarts  "  of  sugar  and  400  pounds  of  coffee  on 
board.1 

In  1761  conditions  in  the  province  were  not  greatly  im- 
proved; the  warring  factions  were  still  present,  though  one 
of  them  was  leaderless.  The  English  being  now  more  for- 
midable at  sea  than  ever,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  mother  country  supplied  the  province  with  necessary 
food  and  war  materials.  The  crown  urged  the  merchants 
to  go  on  with  the  work.  In  June  it  succeeded  in  securing  a 
ship  belonging  to  a  merchant  of  La  Rochelle,  to  whom  it 
paid  167  livres  a  ton  for  the  transportation,  to  carry  a 
cargo  to  Louisiana.  Other  merchants  were  solicited,  but 
this  year  no  others  were  secured.2  In  December  the  royal 
government  obtained  the  services  of  a  Dutch  merchant  at 
Amsterdam  to  take  supplies  to  the  province.  The  ship  left 
early  the  next  year,  carrying  with  it  instructions  for  the 
colonial  officials  to  receive  the  boat  and  its  cargo.3 

Unable  to  find  French  merchants  willing  to  undertake 
such  ventures,  the  home  government,  in  1762,  despatched 
from  Bordeaux  five  ships,  each  of  about  300  tons  burden. 
Each  vessel  had  on  board  soldiers  and  much  merchandise. 
The  royal  warehouse  by  this  time  was  entirely  empty  and 
the  prices  were  high.4  Wine  was  selling  at  3,500  livres  a 
cask  and  flour  at  600  livres  a  "  quart  ",  160  pounds.5  The 
new  "  ordonnateur  "  found  return  cargoes  for  all  but  one 
of  the  vessels,  which  finally  took  62^4  tons  of  logwood  and 
two  small  cases  of  tobacco,  commodities  belonging  to  the 

1A.  N,,  C.,  SVr.  B,  vol.  cxii,  pt.  2,  fol.  150. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  cxiii,  pt.  i,  fols.  240,  pt.  2,  fol.  30;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol- 
11336,  fols.  I93-I94- 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  cxi,  fol.  3. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  cxiv,  Louisiana,  fol.  15;  5Vr.  C18,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  5. 

5  Ibid.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xliii.  fol.  122. 


224 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


[224 


preceding  "  ordonnateur  ",  on  which  the  crown  was  asked 
to  fix  the  freight  charges.1 

During  the  war  the  exports  from  Louisiana  had  increased 
somewhat  in  spite  of  the  obstacles  that  had  arisen.  This 
was  especially  the  case  with  tobacco,  indigo  and  peltry.2 
In  1762  the  receipts  from  exports  were  stated  to  be  over 
6,000,000  livres.3  When  Governor  Kerlerec  left  the  prov- 
ince in  the  following  year  he  bore  with  him  letters  from  the 
superior  council  and  from  private  persons  appreciative  of 
his  efficient  administration  in  such  trying  times.4 

Except  in  the  case  of  indigo,  peltry  and  tobacco  just 
cited,  there  seems  to  be  no  way  to  ascertain,  even  approxi- 
mately, the  proportions  of  the  trade  between  Louisiana  and 
the  mother  country  during  the  time  the  former  was  a 
French  province.  There  are,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  ac- 
count of  this  commerce,  records  of  prices  for  both  the  ex- 
ports and  imports.  Those  paid  at  different  times  for  indigo 
and  tobacco,  on  the  one  side,  and  wine  and  flour  on  the 
other  have  been  summarized  in  the  following  diagrams. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  SSr.  C18,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  149. 


1  Villiers  du  Terrage,  pp. 
Years. 

147-148. 
Indigo. 
Livres. 

27O.OOO 

Tobacco. 
Livres. 

QO.OOO 

Peltry. 
Livres. 
120,000 

X.7C.OOO 

isc.ooo 

150,000 

C4.O.OOO 

210,000 

180,000 

I7CQ.  . 

891,000 

288,000 

240,080 

*759  

I.7CO  OOO 

480,000 

240,000 

480,000 

4.IO.OOO 

3,600,000 

25O.OOO 

8  Ibid.,  p.  148. 
Years. 

Livres. 

•757  

..  1,868,600 

.  .  2,886,200 

.  .  5,611,000 

1762.  . 

..  6.662.200 

4  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  xxv,  fol.  54- 


225]       TRADE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA 

Diagram  III  shows  that  the  variation  in  these  two  imports 
was  not  due  to  freight  charges. 


LiVTM 

3500 

3000 

2500 
3.000 
1500 
1000 

500 


1700        1705        1710        1715        IT1O       1725        1730        173?        17*0        1745        I75O       1755       IT6O       1765 


BEFORE  the  French  established  themselves  in  the  Miss- 
issippi valley  there  was  a  trade  in  slaves  carried  on  by  the 
Indians  of  that  area.1  When  the  French  by  actual  settle- 
ment became  the  possessors  of  this  territory  they  soon  dis- 
covered that  it  was  necessary  to  buy  war  captives  in  order 
to  deal  successfully  with  the  natives.  La  Salle  at  once  saw 
a  way  whereby  he  could  make  of  this  traffic  a  lucrative 
business  and  at  the  same  time  win  the  good-will  of  the  sav- 
ages. His  plan  was  to  buy  the  slaves  and  carry  them  back 
to  their  people  and  there  offer  them  for  sale.  The  parent 
tribe,  La  Salle  discovered,  would  pay  more  liberally  for  one 
of  their  own  than  of  foreign  blood.2 

In  1700  the  French  found  the  English  of  Carolina  among 
the  Chickasaw  buying  slaves.  The  same  year  Iberville 
sent  Tonty  to  sell  beaver  skins  to  the  English;  the  main 
purpose  of  the  expedition  being  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  English  slave  trade  in  the 
valley.  From  this  time  onward  the  French  asserted 
and  reasserted  that  the  English  created  wars  between  dif- 
ferent Indian  tribes  in  the  interior  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  captives.8  Whether  the  English  actually 
did  originate  hostilities  for  such  a  purpose  is  not  relevant 
to  this  account.  It  is  of  concern,  however,  that  the  French 

1  Supra,  p.  97. 

J  Margry,  vol.  ii,  p.  79;  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C1*,  vol.  i,  fols.  315-322,  522. 
8  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  406;  A.  N.,  C.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  i,  fol.  429. 
226  [226 


227]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  227 

implicitly  believed  they  did,  and  in  order  to  thwart  the 
English,  formed  a  peace  policy. 

As  early  as  1702,  Bienville  began  exhorting  the  Choctaw 
and  Chickasaw  to  abandon  the  English  and  become  friends. 
He  tried  to  show  them  that  the  English  aimed  only  at  mak- 
ing them  slaves.  Moreover,  he  pointed  out  that  such  wars 
had  caused  the  death  of  over  1 ,800  Choctaw  and  the  taking 
of  more  than  500  prisoners  who  had  been  sold  as  slaves. 
He  drew  the  attention  of  the  Chickasaw,  on  their  part,  to 
the  fact  that  they  had  lost  over  800  of  their  warriors.  Bien- 
ville told  the  latter  tribes  that  if  they  would  unite  with 
the  former  Indians  and  drive  the  English  from  the  Miss- 
issippi valley,  that  he  would  have  the  Illinois  cease  their 
wars  upon  them.  This  argument  was  convincing.  The 
Indians  entered  into  a  general  peace  that  lasted  for  nearly 
three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  two  nations  re- 
sumed hostilities  and  the  English  came  among  them  to  buy 
up  the  captives.1  The  French  peace  policy  for  the  time 
being,  therefore,  broke  down  because  the  English  knew 
how  to  "  have  their  slaves  ".  Under  the  circumstances  it 
became  necessary  for  the  French  to  adopt  the  English 
methods.2 

The  French  traders  even  went  so  far  as  to  imitate  the 
English  in  the  matter  of  creating  wars  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  securing  the  prisoners.8  In  1720  the  French  "voya- 
geurs  "  on  the  Arkansas  and  Missouri  rivers  were  said  to 
have  brought  about  tribal  differences  for  that  purpose.  In 
order  to  put  an  end  to  such  behavior  the  crown  issued  a 
decree  that  offenders  of  this  sort  were  to  be  seized  and  their 
merchandise  confiscated.  Furthermore,  all  the  officials 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  516-518. 

*  La  Harpe,  pp.  89-91. 

s  A.  N.,  C.f  Str.  C",  vol.  ii,  fols.  395-4P3- 


228  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [228 

were  directed  to  do  what  they  could  to  suppress  the  dis- 
order.1 These  Frenchmen,  however,  were  clever  enough 
to  carry  on  the  traffic  secretly  and  thus  escape  punishment.2 
The  Indians  at  times,  it  seems,  themselves  entered  the  slave 
trade  of  their  own  volition.  In  May,  1709,  the  Alibamon 
fell  upon  the  Mobile  Indians,  killed  the  men  and  carried 
some  twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  women  and  children  as 
slaves  to  the  French  at  Mobile.3 

The  officials  of  Louisiana  desired  to  follow  still  further 
the  English  methods  of  dealing  with  Indian  slaves.  To 
this  end  they  requested  the  home  government  in  1 706,  1 707 
and  1708  to  allow  them  to  exchange,  in  the  French  West 
Indies,  Indians  for  negro  slaves,  the  rate  being  fixed  at  two 
of  the  former  for  three  of  the  latter.  Bienville  informed 
the  crown  that  the  reason  for  such  an  arrangement  was  to 
put  the  Indians  where  they  would  be  unfamiliar  with  the 
country  and,  therefore,  could  not  run  away.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  asserted,  "  negroes  in  Louisiana  would  not  dare 
to,  because  the  Indians  would  kill  them ".  Another  co- 
lonial official  in  his  request  to  the  royal  government  for  such 
a  traffic  gave  as  a  reason  that,  the  English  were  making 
profit  out  of  a  similar  trade.  The  home  government,  how- 
ever, was  not  convinced  by  the  argument  of  its  agents  in 
Louisiana,  and  accordingly  rejected  the  proposal.4 

On  October  12,  1708,  a  merchant  coming  to  the  prov- 
ince from  St.  Domingue  bought  fifteen  Indian  slaves.  Not- 
withstanding the  home  government  disapproved  of  such 
transactions,  an  agreement  was  made  with  him  to  bring 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  316. 

*  Charlevoix,  Hist,  and  Gen.  Desc.  of  New  France,  vol.  vi,  pp.  32-33 ; 
Carver,  p.  348. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1',  vol.  ii,  fol.  398. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  fols.  514-519;  vol.  ii,  fols.  57-69,  359-362. 


229]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  229 

negroes,  for  each  of  whom  he  was  to  receive  in  exchange 
two  Indians.1  About  the  same  time  a  similar  trade  was  pro- 
posed to  the  merchants  of  Cape  Frangais.2  The  Louisiana 
officials,  it  seems,  preferred  to  carry  on  such  exchanges  with 
royal  sanction,  therefore  in  1713  they  again  requested  the 
crown  to  allow  them  to  carry  on  the  traffic,  which  proposal 
was  again  rejected.3 

In  buying  from  the  Indians,  and  in  their  clandestine 
slave  dealings  with  islanders,  the  French  were  never  able 
to  make  as  good  bargains  as  did  the  English  in  a  similar 
trade.  Governor  Cadillac  acknowledged  he  was  not  able 
to  understand  the  genius  of  an  Englishman  who  could  buy 
a  slave  from  a  native  for  fifty  pistoles  (forty-two  livres, 
six  sols,  ten  deniers),  for  which  a  Frenchman  would  be 
obliged  to  pay  as  much  as  100  to  105  livres.*  These  dif- 
ferences in  price  sometimes  led  French  traders  to  attempt 
to  secure  Indian  slaves  from  the  English.  In  1716,  for 
example,  a  nephew  of  Bienville  lost  his  life  while  engaged 
in  such  a  traffic  in  Carolina.  The  work,  however,  was  too 
hazardous  to  become  widespread.5 

The  unprofitableness  of  the  trade  in  natives  together 
with  the  inability  of  the  owners  to  keep  them  from  running 
away  when  forced  to  work,  and  the  royal  opposition  to  it 
caused  the  French  of  Louisiana  gradually  to  abandon  this 
form  of  servitude.6  In  1728  Governor  Perier  pronounced 
it  to  be  detrimental  to  the  advancement  of  the  province.7 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  ii,  fols.  178,  471-480. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  120. 
1  Ibid.,  fol.  1 10. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  65,  511-533- 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  511-533;  vol.  iv,  fols.  241-242. 
'  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  fols.  53-54. 
7  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fol.  7. 


230  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [230 

The  number  of  Indians  held  as  slaves  in  Louisiana,  there- 
fore, was  never  large.  In  1708  there  were  eighty  of  both 
sexes  in  the  Mobile  valley,  no  in  1721,  and  thirty-seven 
in  1725.  Along  the  Mississippi,  in  and  around  New  Or- 
leans, there  were,  in  1721,  118;  in  1727,  seventy-three; 
and  in  1731,  forty-seven.  There  appears  but  one  census, 
each,  for  the  Illinois  country  and  Natchitoches.  In  it, 
1731,  117  for  the  former  district  and  seven  for  the  latter 
are  recorded.  The  only  inventory  of  the  property  of  the 
entire  province  was  made  in  1726  and  in  it  there  are  229 
Indian  slaves  recorded.1  By  1744  the  number  had  fallen 
to  122.  It  was,  at  this  time,  asserted  that  there  were  very 
few  in  Louisiana  because  the  French  were  at  peace  with  all 
the  Indian  nations.  The  savages  still  in  bondage,  it  was 
further  claimed,  had  been  taken  in  former  wars  and  had  as 
yet  not  been  given  their  freedom.2 

As  might  be  expected  the  price  of  Indian  slaves  in  Louis- 
iana was  not  high.  From  time  to  time  a  few  savages  were 
sold  to  merchants  coming  from  the  French  West  Indies, 
but  no  details  of  the  transactions  are  given.  As  late  as 
1752  a  trader  from  Cape  Frangais  bought  at  New  Orleans 
three  Indian  men  and  two  women,  but  no  figures  are 
quoted.3  In  1755  an  Indian  slave  in  the  Illinois  country  sold 
for  733  livres,  perhaps  as  large  a  sum  as  was  given  for  a 
native  slave  during  the  French  regime.* 

Since  the  French  were  not  permitted  by  the  home  gov- 
ernment to  exchange  Indians  for  island  negroes,  they  early 
began  to  make  requests  for  a  supply  from  Africa.5  In  one 

1  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G\  vol.  464. 
1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  p.  26. 
*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  62-63. 
*  Register  1755,  Courthouse,  Belleville,  Illinois. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fol.  50;  vol.  ii,  fol.  57-69;  vol.  Hi,  fol. 
120;  Ser.  Fs,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  236-237. 


23 1 ]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  231 

way  or  another  a  black  from  time  to  time  was  procured 
and  in  1712  the  number  in  the  whole  province  was  ten.1 
Crozat's  patent,  issued  this  year,  gave  him  the  exclusive 
right  to  bring  annually  to  the  province  from  the  Guinea 
coast  one  cargo  of  negroes,2  The  patentee,  himself,  made 
but  little  use  of  the  privilege;  nevertheless  he  guarded  it 
carefully.  On  July  27,  1717,  an  English  ship  anchored  at 
Dauphin  Island.  The  captain  asked  for  a  supply  of  wood 
and  water  which  was  given  on  the  condition  that  he  agree, 
among  other  things,  to  refrain  from  a  trade  in  slaves.3 

The  Company  of  the  West  in  1717  agreed  to  take  over 
all  negroes  belonging  to  Crozat  and  to  pay  for  them  with 
their  notes  or  with  merchandise.  Moreover,  it  arranged 
to  receive  the  colonists'  unpaid  slave  contracts  and  to  allow 
them  to  finish  payment  in  accordance  with  the  old  arrange- 
ment or  to  return  the  negroes  to  the  Company.4  The  slave- 
trading  privilege  accorded  to  Crozat  in  his  patent  was  not 
incorporated  in  the  one  issued  to  the  Company  of  the  West. 
Through  a  readjustment5  that  took  place  in  1719,  Louis- 
iana passed  under  the  control  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies 
which  owned  the  right  to  a  trade  in  slaves.6  Its  privileges 
in  regard  to  the  slave  traffic  was  extended  to  include  also 
Louisiana.7 

At  this  juncture  the  representative  of  a  small  trading 
company  in  France  requested  the  home  government  to 
allow  it,  while  preparations  were  being  made  to  secure  them 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  SVr.  C18,  vol.  ii,  fol.  178;  vol.  iii,  fol.  65. 
1  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  3,  p.  42. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  S£r.  F»,  vol.  241,  M.  S.  S.  M. 

4  Ibid.,  S6r.  C1*,  vol.  v,  fol.  333. 
6  Supra,  p.  31. 

4  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  590. 

7  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  3,  p.  52. 


232  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [232 

from  the  Guinea  coast,  to  procure  1,500  blacks  from  the 
English  for  the  province.1  The  permission  was  not  granted 
and  no  importations  of  negroes  were  made  until  1721,  when 
the  Company  landed  in  Louisiana  1,312,  the  largest  number 
brought  over  in  any  single  year.2  For  some  time  afterward 
slave  ships  reached  the  province  from  Africa  almost  every 
year  with  cargoes  of  negroes,  and  by  the  end  of  its  control 
of  the  province  the  Company  had  transported  thither  more 
than  6,000  negroes,  bringing  the  whole  number  landed  since 
colored  laborers  were  first  employed,  close  to  7,000.*  The 
colonial  officials  were  required  by  the  home  government  to 
make  a  certified  statement  of  every  slave  ship,  which  report 
contained  the  number  and  conditions  of  the  negroes  on 
board.  In  some  cases  the  number  that  had  died  during  the 
voyage  was  also  stated.* 

The  negroes  were  drawn  from  Caye,  Goree,  Juida,  An- 
gola and  Senegal,  though  by  far  the  greater  number  was 
obtained  from  the  coast  last  named.4  The  mortality  while 
on  the  journey  across  the  ocean  was  high.5  In  one  in- 
stance, however,  due  to  a  very  quick  trip  of  only  four 
months  from  the  time  the  slave  ship  left  France  until  it 
arrived  in  Louisiana,  together  with  especially  good  treat- 
ment of  the  blacks  during  the  voyage,  only  nine  died.  On 
reaching  Louisiana  they  were  fat,  spirited  and  apparently 
healthy.  A  few  days  later,  however,  many  fell  sick  with 
flux  and  scurvy,  and  200  out  of  341  had  to  be  sent  to  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C1',  vol.  v,  fols.  299-302. 

3  Infra,  p.  249. 
'Ibid. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fols.  27-29,  51,  131,  315. 
« Infra,  p.  249. 


233]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  233. 

hospital  for  treatment,  while  others  were  given  medical  aid 
>n  the  plantations  to  which  they  were  assigned.1 

Scurvy,  measles,  dysentery,  flux,  and  sore  eyes,  that 
sometimes  caused  blindness,  were  the  most  common  dis- 
eases while  on  shipboard.  When  large  numbers  of  negroes 
were  landed  at  one  time,  the  Company  was  unable  to  pro- 
vide for  them  warm  woolen  clothing,  therefore,  the  strong 
is  well  as  the  weak  at  times  found  the  temperature  of  the 
Gulf  coast  too  low  for  them.  Such  climatic  conditions 
caused  other  maladies  and  aggravated  the  more  common 
:omplaints,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  many  of  the 
>lacks  soon  after  their  arrival.2 

The  procuring  of  enough  food  often  was  a  very  great 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  expanding  the  slave  trade.  In  1723, 
>vhen  574  were  disembarked  in  Louisiana,  there  were 
provisions  available  for  feeding  so  large  a  number  only 
for  a  short  time.  A  boat,  therefore,  was  immediately 
despatched  to  Cape  Frangais  for  a  supply  of  food.3 

In  the  distribution  of  negroes  the  Company  was  very 
practical.  It  advanced  them  only  to  such  colonists  as  were 
ible  to  provide  them  with  food  and  clothing  and  under 
mything  like  favorable  conditions  would  meet  the  pay- 
ments as  they  fell  due.  In  order  to  make  the  reimburse- 
ments for  everyone  as  easy  as  possible,  the  Company  di- 
vided those  desiring  to  receive  slaves  into  two  classes, 
namely,  old  and  new  comers.  To  the  former  it  allowed  a 
credit  of  one  year  on  half  the  price  of  the  negro,  and  to 
the  latter  two  years.  For  the  execution  of  the  order  all 
persons  who  had  lived  in  the  province  two  years  or  more 
were  to  be  placed  under  the  heading  "  old  ".*  In  order  ta 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xi,  fols.  52-53. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  fol.  189;  vol.  xi,  fols.  27-29,  315. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  287. 

4  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  p.  240;  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Ant.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  203-225. 


234  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [234 

make  no  mistakes  in  the  placing  of  the  slaves  the  Company 
sent  out  each  year  an  agent  whose  duty  it  was  to  visit  all 
farms  and  plantations  for  the  purpose  of  observing  con- 
ditions there.  He  was  to  report  to  the  director  what  he 
saw  and  to  name  the  men  who,  in  his  judgment,  should 
receive  slaves.1  At  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service, 
if  they  wished  to  become  civilians  and  would  agree  to  take 
up  agriculture,  the  Company  made  such  advances  to  sol- 
diers, on  reasonable  terms,  payable,  as  was  always  its  cus- 
tom, entirely  in  farm  products.2  Augmentation  in  the 
number  of  land  owners  brought  about  a  corresponding  in- 
crease in  the  requests  for  laborers.  In  one  year  alone  there 
were  as  many  as  1,862.  The  number  of  negroes  asked  for 
in  these  various  petitions  ranged  from  one  to  fifty.8  Such 
applications  were  made  to  the  "  ordonnateur  "  who  made 
up  the  list  of  names  and  the  number  of  blacks  to  be  allowed 
from  the  recommendations  of  the  Company's  agent  men- 
tioned above.4 

On  the  arrival  of  a  slave  ship  the  health  inspector  was  at 
first  the  only  person  permitted  to  go  on  board.  He  ex- 
amined the  negroes,  separated  the  sick  from  the  well  and 
put  the  former  under  treatment.  The  latter  were  allotted 
to  persons  whose  names  appeared  on  the  official  list.  The 
distribution  was  accomplished  by  placing  a  string,  to  which 
was  attached  a  card  bearing  a  number,  around  the  neck  of 
each  of  the  blacks.  Duplicate  cards  were  made  and  put 
in  a  bag  from  which  the  men  at  random  each  drew  out  one 
or  more  according  to  his  authorized  assignment,  and 
took  possession  of  the  negroes  bearing  the  corresponding 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  625;  A,,  M.  des  C.r  SSr.  Gl,  vol.  464. 

*  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  625. 

« A.,  M.  des  C.,  Sir.  G*,  vol.  464. 

4  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  pp.  240-241. 


235]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  235 

numbers.  The  sick  were  sold  at  auction.  Since  the  supply 
never  was  adequate,  the  bidding  was  usually  brisk,  sick 
negroes  often  bringing  quite  as  much  as  healthy  ones. 
There  were  some  persons  in  the  province  who  made  a  busi- 
ness of  buying  them,  taking  the  chance  of  being  able  to 
cure  them  and  when  well  of  selling  them  at  a  considerable 
advance  on  the  cost.  These  doctors,  it  was  said,  were  care- 
ful "  to  put  their  curative  secrets  in  practice  only  for  them- 
selves 'V 

The  buying  of  a  negro  was  not  easy.  The  best  way,  it 
was  asserted,  was  to  strip  both  "  men  and  women  as  naked 
as  the  hand  ",  and  then  to  have  an  "  honest  doctor  "  ex- 
amine them,  from  the  bottom  of  the  foot  to  the  top  of  the 
head,  looking  carefully  between  the  toes  and  fingers,  in  the 
mouth,  ears,  eyes  and  other  places  where  disease  might 
lodge.  The  physician,  it  was  further  affirmed,  should  be 
especially  requested  to  look  for  the  malady  called  "pians  " 
(yaws).  Its  detection,  however,  did  not  require  an  expert, 
since  it  caused  deep  black  spots  on  the  skin  that  were  as 
smooth  as  glass.  It  was  desirable  that  the  slave  buyer, 
himself,  should  be  able  to  discover  this  as  well  as  other  de- 
fects, since  the  doctors  very  frequently  were  interested  in 
buying  slaves  and  hence  did  not  make  a  correct  diagnosis.2 

The  Company  found  it  necessary  to  regulate  the  slave 
trade  by  special  legislation.  On  March  12,  1722,  a  law 
was  passed  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  negroes  in  the  prov- 
ince. The  act  prohibited,  on  penalty  of  a  fine  of  1,000 
livres  and  confiscation  of  the  slaves,  the  selling  of  negroes 
:o  persons  who  would  take  them  from  the  province.8  The 
sale  of  slaves  was  put  under  still  further  legal  restrictions 

1  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  pp.  335-340;  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  pp.  240-241. 

*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  pp.  335-340. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  March  12,  1722. 


236  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [23* 

on  July  25,  1724.  Henceforward  it  was  to  be  unlawful 
for  captains  of  slave  ships  to  sell  negroes,  as  had  been 
done  sometimes,  before  the  health  inspector  had  examined 
the  cargo.  Violations  of  the  law  were  to  be  punished  by  a 
fine  of  loo  livres  payable  to  the  person  who  proved  the 
guilt  of  the  offender.1  By  1725  many  of  the  slaves,  re- 
ceived from  the  Company  on  credit,  had  been  resold  before 
payment  was  completed.  It  was  believed  the  transfer  would 
make  it  impossible  for  the  officials  to  seize  and  sell  the 
negroes  at  auction  in  order  to  obtain  the  balance  due.  On 
December  n,  by  royal  decree,  such  seizures  and  sales 
were  made  legal.  Out  of  the  money  thus  received,  the 
Company's  claims  took  precedence  over  all  others,  next  the 
second  buyer  or  present  owner  of  the  slave,  and  if  there 
was  a  remainder,  it  passed  to  the  man  who  made  the  at- 
tempt to  defraud  the  Company.2 

In  1727  the  local  director  believed  it  possible  to  open  up 
a  lucrative  trade  in  slaves  with  the  interior  provinces  of 
Mexico  and  communicated  the  fact  to  the  authorities  in 
France.  Nothing  came  of  the  proposal,  due  perhaps  to  the 
fact  that  the  Company  was  about  convinced  that  it  was 
impossible  to  put  trade  of  any  kind  on  a  paying  basis  in 
Louisiana.* 

The  crown  appreciating  the  importance  of  negro  labor 
for  the  development  of  the  province  began,  in  1731,  to  look 
about  for  ways  and  means  to  augment  it.4  Before  the 
end  of  1732,  the  officials  in  France  were  informed  that 
the  colonists,  themselves,  could  not  carry  on  a  trade  in 
African  slaves  but  that  they  could  pay  for  them  in  cotton 

1  A.  N,,  C.,  Sir.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  25,  1724. 

2  Ibid.,  Dec.  n,  1725;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  11332,  fols.  321-323. 
*  A.,  B.  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  vii,  fol.  246. 

4  Ibid.,  Fr.,  vol.  1990,  fol.  113;  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  36-37. 


237]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  237 

and  tobacco,  if  only  the  royal  government  would  bring 
them  to  the  province.  If  it  could  not  carry  on  such  a  trade, 
itself,  it  was  the  wish  of  the  settlers  that  it  interest  the 
merchants  of  France  to  take  up  the  work  of  transporting 
blacks  from  the  Guinea  coast  to  Louisiana.1  There  seems 
to  have  been  no  response  to  this  communication.  By  1734, 
the  colonists  from  both  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  were  mak- 
ing urgent  appeals  for  slaves,  offering  for  them  as  much  as 
1,400  livres  apiece.2  The  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  ", 
thereupon,  informed  the  crown  of  the  need  of  negro  labor 
for  the  development  of  the  province.8 

A  chance  to  increase  the  slave  trade  seems  to  have  pre- 
sented itself  in  December,  1733,  when  there  arrived  from 
St.  Domingue  a  merchant  boat  of  sixty  tons.  During  the 
stay  of  the  proprietors,  captain,  and  two  merchants  in  the 
province  they  sold  the  cargo  they  brought  and  bought  an- 
other to  be  carried  to  Martinique,  meanwhile  formulating 
with  the  Louisiana  officials  a  plan  for  bringing  negroes 
from  Africa  to  the  colony.  En  route  to  Martinique  they 
stopped  at  St.  Domingue  in  order  to  land  one  of  the  mer- 
chants who  was  there  to  take  passage  on  a  royal  ship  bound 
for  France  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the  project  to  the 
home  government.  From  the  former  island  the  captain 
was  to  take  the  vessel  to  the  coast  of  Guinea  where  he  was 
to  procure  a  cargo  of  negroes  for  Louisiana.  According 
to  the  plan  formulated  before  leaving  the  province  the 
royal  government  was  to  be  requested  to  allow  these  men 
to  buy  in  France  a  ship  of  150  tons  to  be  used  in  carrying 
slaves  from  Guinea  to  New  Orleans.  If  the  crown  granted 
the  permit  without  remuneration  and  allowed  a  "  gratifica- 

1  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xiv,  fols.  36-3?. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  51-53;  vol.  xix,  fols.  25-29. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  14-19,  41-44. 


238  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [238 

tion  "  of  forty  livres  a  head  on  all  negroes  imported,  they 
were  to  be  sold  in  the  province  for  450  livres  each.  On 
reaching  St.  Domingue  a  letter  was  despatched  to  the  colonial 
officials  soliciting  them  to  recommend  to  the  home  govern- 
ment that  a  boat  of  800  tons  be  purchased  in  Holland  instead 
of  the  one  of  150  tons  in  the  original  scheme;  a  subsidy  of 
forty  livres  a  ton  be  granted  on  cargoes  of  colonial  products 
carried  from  Louisiana,  as  accorded  to  French  merchants 
for  similar  service ;  and  that  the  selling  price  of  the  negroes 
be  raised  to  600  livres.  The  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  " 
jointly  sent  a  letter  to  the  royal  officials  strongly  recom- 
mending the  proposal,  together  with  the  changes.  The 
crown,  it  seems,  took  no  action  in  the  matter.1 

On  the  failure  of  the  above  project  the  Louisiana  agents 
urged  upon  the  home  government  the  necessity  of  sending 
negroes  to  the  province,  informing  it  that  a  cargo  of  200 
slaves  could  easily  be  paid  for  in  two  years,  since  they  would 
be  sold  only  to  planters  in  comfortable  circumstances.2  The 
enthusiasm  of  the  royal  officials  for  such  a  trade  perhaps 
was  dampened  somewhat  by  the  fact  that  the  sales  for  the 
negroes  they  already  had  furnished  were  still  63,200  livres 
in  arrears,  which  they  were  assured  would  be  paid  at  the 
coming  harvest.8  This  year  the  "  ordonnateur  "  issued  an 
ordinance  that  was  meant  to  protect  owners  from  loss  of 
slaves  through  escape  and  drunkenness.  The  law,  how- 
ever, was  enforced  poorly,  hence  brought  little  relief.4 

Three  years  now  passed  before  another  proposal  was 
presented  for  the  building  up  of  the  slave  trade  of  the  prov- 
ince. In  1737,  a  merchant  of  La  Rochelle  made  an  offer  to 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  SVr.  C18,  vol.  xix,  fols.  88-89,  90-91,  198-199. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  105-109;  vol.  xxi,  fols.  25-30. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  284-286. 

4  Ibid.,  SSr.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Dec.  7,  1736. 


239]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  239 

carry  negroes  from  Africa  to  Louisiana  for  from  550  to 
850  livres  a  head,  according  to  the  age  and  quality  of  the 
blacks.  He  pointed  out  the  fact  that  at  this  time  slaves  in. 
St.  Domingue  were  selling  for  from  1,200  to  1,300  livres 
each.  He  made  the  offer,  therefore,  only  on  the  condition, 
that  the  colonists  would  agree  to  buy  all  the  slaves  he 
landed.  According  to  the  proposal  the  negroes  were  to  be 
paid  for  in  tobacco,  indigo,  peltry  or  other  products  suited 
to  the  French  market.  The  first  payment  was  to  be  made 
from  the  harvest  nearest  the  date  of  sale  of  the  negro.  The 
merchant  on  his  part  agreed  to  pay  three  livres  a  pound  for 
indigo,  three  sols,  six  deniers  a  pound  for  tobacco,  and  one 
livre  and  a  half  for  deerskins.1 

Since  nothing  came  of  this  proposal  the  home  govern- 
ment was  again  informed  of  the  great  need  there  was  in 
the  province  for  colored  laborers  for  the  production  of  in- 
digo and  other  commodities.2  No  negroes  being  provided, 
a  settler  living  near  Mobile,  in  December,  made  a  bargain 
with  the  captain  of  an  English  vessel  to  open  a  slave  market 
on  the  "  Isle  of  Vessels  ",  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Mobile  river,  where  the  commander  of  the  ship  at  this  time 
disposed  of  five  blacks.3 

The  next  year,  1738,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  " 
jointly  informed  the  crown  that  it  had  been  eight  years 
since  the  province  had  received  slaves  from  it  and  that  the 
need  for  a  new  supply  was  most  pressing,  since  those  in 
the  service  were  growing  old.  Therefore  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  colony  as  a  whole,  and  for  the  indigo  industry 
in  particular,  the  proposal  of  Bienville  and  Salmon  was 
recommended  as  being  worthy  of  approval.  For  a  nunv 

1  A.  N.,  C.t  Sir.  F*,  vol.  242,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  Feb.  22,  1737. 
1  Ibid.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-41,  51-54. 
3  Ibid.,  fols.  198-203. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [240 

her  of  years,  fixed  by  itself,  the  crown  was  petitioned  by 
these  two  officials  to  permit  them,  jointly,  to  form  a  com- 
pany for  the  exclusive  trade  in  slaves  between  the  Guinea 
coast  and  Louisiana.  The  formation  of  the  company  was 
to  be  made  as  follows :  the  crown  was  to  advance  it  150,000 
livres;  to  provide  a  ship  and  crew  secured  in  France;  to 
exempt  it  from  paying  a  duty  to  the  Company  of  the  Indies. 
If  it  was  impossible  to  supply  the  vessel,  a  "  gratification  " 
of  200  livres  a  head  was  proposed  as  an  acceptable  substi- 
tute. Under  these  conditions  the  blacks  were  to  be  sold  in 
the  province  for  800  livres  apiece.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
various  proposals  above  cited  the  crown  took  no  action  re- 
:garding  the  matter.1 

The  next  year  the  royal  government  was  requested  to 
grant  large  tracts  of  land  for  the  establishing  of  tobacco 
plantations,  and  to  make  to  the  planters  an  advance  of 
600,000  livres  to  be  held  for  fourteen  years  without  in- 
terest. Of  this  sum  500,000  livres  was  to  be  used  in  buy- 
ing negroes  and  the  remainder  in  fitting  up  the  farms.  For 
the  fourteen  years  the  crown  was  to  permit  blacks  to  be 
procured  for  the  province  wherever  they  could  be  pur- 
chased most  advantageously.  The  settlers  were  to  be  paid 
five  sols  a  pound  for  tobacco,  with  its  transportation  to 
France  made  as  easy  as  possible.  This  scheme  being  less 
attractive,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  home  govern- 
ment, no  consideration  was  given  it.2 

In  April  the  "  ordonnateur  "  informed  the  crown  that 
the  planters  were  chagrined  because  their  negroes  were  all 
old,  due  to  the  fact  that  for  twelve  years  there  had  been 
no  importations  from  Africa.5  Of  the  4,000  blacks  then 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  120-131. 
*Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  268,  274. 
3  Supra,  p.  239. 


24 1  ]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  241 

in  the  province,  it  was  asserted  that  two-thirds  were  Creoles, 
a.  condition  that  did  not  exist  even  in  the  Antilles,  a  prov- 
ince where  there  was  a  much  smaller  quantity  of  exports 
produced.  Salmon  was  positive  that  a  cargo  of  250  adult 
negroes  brought  annually  to  Louisiana  would  go  far  toward 
removing  the  shortage  in  slave  labor.1  In  the  latter  part 
:>f  the  year  Governor  Bienville  informed  the  royal  govern- 
ment of  an  opportunity  to  secure  slaves.  Two  planters 
from  Martinique  had  come  to  the  colony,  secured  land, 
and  one  of  them  with  ten  negroes  had  begun  work  on  it, 
while  the  other  had  returned  to  bring  over  the  remainder 
of  their  blacks.  Through  these  men  the  governor  had 
learned  that  there  were  many  more  slave  owners  in  that 
island  who  wished  to  migrate  to  Louisiana  and  requested 
the  crown  to  allow  them  to  do  so.2  Bienville  further  in- 
formed the  home  government  that  a  La  Rochelle  merchant 
who,  during  the  year,  had  a  vessel  trading  in  the  province, 
had  promised  to  carry  over  a  cargo  of  negroes  in  1742. 
These  he  had  agreed  to  sell  in  Louisiana  for  1,500  livres 
each,  one-third  payable  on  delivery  in  colonial  currency, 
and  one-third  at  each  of  two  succeeding  harvests  in  native 
products.3  The  activities  of  the  officials  of  the  province, 
therefore,  had  brought  to  the  colony  this  year  no  acquisi- 
tions of  slaves. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  end  to  the  schemes  intended 
to  bring  about  such  results.  In  1742,  d'Alcour  and  Dub- 
reuil  worked  out  a  plan  of  the  sort  with  the  full  approval 
and  cooperation  of  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur ", 
d'Alour  making  a  journey  to  France  in  order  to  bring  the 
project  to  a  successful  termination.  In  July,  1743,  a  re- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  138-139. 
*Ibid.,  fols.  108-109. 
3  Ibid.,  fol.  109. 


242  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [242 

port  reached  the  province  that  there  would  soon  be  a  cargo 
of  200  negroes  brought  to  Louisiana  from  Senegal,  where 
they  had  been  purchased  from  the  Company  of  the  Indies. 
In  order  to  help  the  venture  along,  the  "  ordonnateur " 
made  to  the  promoters  an  advance  in  bills  of  exchange 
and  permitted  them  ship  100  tons  of  freight  on  royal 
boats  bound  for  France.  The  first  payment  to  the  Com- 
pany, 30,000  livres,  was  due  July,  1 742 ;  in  July  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  30,000  pounds  of  tobacco  and  400  barrels  of 
tar  were  placed  on  board  a  vessel  to  be  sent  to  France  to 
meet  the  obligation.  On  the  same  boat  there  also  were 
despatched  40,000  pounds  of  tobacco,  400  barrels  of  tar 
and  some  indigo  for  the  second  3O,ooo-livre  instalment.1 

In  August,  1743,  d'Alcour  with  his  vessel  reached  Louis- 
iana with  190  full-grown  negroes  on  board,  what  was  left 
of  about  250  taken  on  in  Africa.2  The  venture  evidently 
was  profitable,  since  the  crown  was  at  once  petitioned  to 
allow  a  second  cargo,  this  time  one  of  220  blacks.*  About 
the  same  time  Governor  Vaudreuil  suggested  to  the  royal 
government  that  it  was  advisable  to  send  to  the  province 
the  next  year  600  negroes,  or  300,  each,  for  two  or  three 
years.  The  cost  to  it,  the  governor  claimed,  would  be  600 
livres  and  the  selling  price  in  the  province  1,800  livres  a 
head.  The  venture,  therefore,  would  bring  about  two 
beneficial  results,  namely,  the  retiring  of  colonial  paper,4 
and  the  providing  of  the  settlers  with  an  adequate  number 
of  laborers.5  The  home  government  not  being  convinced 
of  these  inherent  probabilities  rejected  the  proposal. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  5-8;  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  20-21. 
J  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  84-85. 
8  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxix,  fol.  38. 

*  Supra,  p.  135. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  83-84. 


243]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  243 

Vaudreuil,  having  given  up  hope  of  securing  negroes 
through  the  crown  or  the  French  merchants,  in  1746,  en- 
gaged a  Dutch  trader  to  import  them.  He  then  informed 
the  royal  authorities  of  the  action  he  had  taken  and  pro- 
ceeded to  justify  it  on  the  ground,  first,  that  France  was 
not  at  war  with  Holland,  and  secondly,  that  the  advance- 
ment of  the  province  absolutely  depended  upon  an  aug- 
mentation of  slave  labor.1  The  Hollander  seems  to  have 
made  no  use  of  the  privilege  accorded  him,  therefore  an- 
other of  the  schemes  for  increasing  the  number  of  negroes 
ended  in  failure. 

The  struggle  between  France  and  England,  1744-1748, 
diverted  the  attention  of  the  colonial  officials  somewhat 
from  the  slave  trade.  As  soon  as  peace  was  restored  many 
persons  in  the  province  began  to  establish  new  plantations 
on  the  Mississippi  above  New  Orleans.  Therefore  an 
urgent  need  of  importation  of  negroes  was  soon  mani- 
fested. In  1752,  the  "  ordonnateur  "  informed  the  crown 
the  demand  was  so  great  for  blacks  to  clear  the  land  on 
these  farms  that  some  of  the  planters  had  deposited  money 
with  him  to  be  used  in  buying  slaves  for  them  at  Cape 
Franqais.  At  the  same  time  he  asserted  there  were  a  num- 
ber of  men  in  the  French  West  Indies,  especially  Martin- 
ique,2 who  wished  to  establish  themselves  in  Louisiana. 
He  requested  the  crown  to  permit  the  migration.*  Its  sanc- 
tion, however,  was  not  given. 

From  time  to  time  the  merchants  from  St.  Domingue 
and  Martinique  brought  to  the  province  what  blacks  they 
could  procure  at  the  slave  markets  of  those  two  islands. 
Some  of  these  traders  paid  willingly  the  duty  customary 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  110-112;  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  32. 

2  Supra,  p.  241. 

8  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  273,  275. 


244  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [244 

in  other  French  provinces  on  such  importations,  while 
others  refused.  Not  deeming  it  wise  to  force  such  pay- 
ments without  direct  instructions  from  the  crown,  the  gov- 
ernor, in  1754,  asked  to  be  informed  as  to  its  wishes  in  the 
matter.1  To  this  communication  there  was  no  reply.  In 
the  advancement  of  such  a  commerce  it  seems  the  royal 
government  was  somewhat  interested,  for  in  January  it 
was  willing  to  allow  a  merchant  of  Bordeaux  to  enter  the 
trade  but  refused  to  aid  him  in  carrying  out  his  project.2 
In  the  following  April  it  was  considering  the  granting  of 
a  permit  to  this  same  merchant  to  transport  negroes  from 
the  Guinea  coast  to  Louisiana.  Moreover  it  was  inclined 
to  allow  him  a  "  gratification  "  on  each  negro  thus  im- 
ported.3 Since  the  close  of  the  war  the  slave  owners  of 
the  province  evidently  had  prospered.  At  any  rate  the  "  or- 
donnateur  ",  in  September,  informed  the  royal  government 
they  were  now  financially  able  to  pay  the  capitation  tax  of 
five  livres  that  some  time  before  it  had  proposed  to  put  on 
negroes.4  Just  at  this  juncture  war  again  broke  out  be- 
tween France  and  England,  and  the  placing  of  the  tax  was 
for  the  time  being  deferred. 

From  1754  to  the  end  of  the  French  control  of  the  prov- 
ince there  was  very  little  interest  taken  in  the  slave  trade. 
In  1756,  an  old  complaint  against  Dubreuil  was  again  up 
for  adjustment.  In  1739,  he  had  bought  some  negroes, 
agreeing  to  pay  for  them  30,000  livres  in  three  equal  an- 
nual instalments.  In  1742,  but  16,000  livres  had  been  paid 
and  the  case  was  taken  to  the  superior  council  for  settle- 
ment. Enough  of  the  planter's  property  to  pay  the  debt 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fol.  51. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  c,  fol.  8. 
3  Ibid.,  fol.  52. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  176,  177. 


245]  THE  SLAVE  TRADE  245 

was  ordered  to  be  seized  and  sold.  For  some  reason 
the  order  was  not  carried  out.  Although  the  Count  de 
Maurepas  had  written  the  "  ordonnateur "  a  number  of 
times  concerning  the  matter,  except  for  4,000  livres  in 
1752,  no  remittances  had  been  made.1 

Three  French  frigates  in  1759  seized  an  English  vessel 
that  had  on  board  414  negroes.  Two-thirds  of  the  number 
were  left  at  Grenada  and  the  remainder  carried  to  Louis- 
iana. The  governor  of  the  latter  province  did  not  know 
how  to  deal  with  importations  of  blacks,  since  no  reply  had 
been  given  him  in  regard  to  his  request  concerning  the 
duty  to  be  levied  on  negroes  brought  to  the  colony.2  They 
were  therefore  held  from  January  to  May  in  order  to  re- 
ceive instructions.3  With  this  sale  the  slave  trade  of  Louis- 
iana as  a  French  province  practically  came  to  an  end. 
However,  such  a  commerce  with  the  French  West  Indies 
to  some  extent  must  have  gone  on  after  1 759.  At  any  rate 
on  July  9,  1763,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  superior  council 
forbidding  the  importation  of  negroes  from  St.  Domingue 
because  so  many  deaths  of  whites  of  that  island  had  oc- 
curred, due  to  poison  administered  by  the  blacks.4 

At  the  time  of  the  retrocession  of  Louisiana  in  1731 
there  were  3,395  negro  slaves  in  the  province.5  Through 
the  great  industry  of  the  colonial  officials,  described  in  the 
preceding  pages  of  this  chapter,  and  through  natural  in- 
crease, the  number  in  1746  was  4,730,**  and  at  the  end  of 
the  French  period  there  were  in  the  entire  province  about 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  ciii,  fol.  4. 

2  Supra,  p.  244. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xli,  fol.  173. 

4  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  2,  p.  63. 
6  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G*,  vol.  464. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  256. 


246  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [246 

6,000  black  slaves.1  In  the  Illinois  country  where  such 
laborers  were  not  thought  to  be  desirable  there  were,  in 
1750,  300,  and  by  1763,  900." 

For  the  first  decade  and  a  half  there  seems  to  be  no  in- 
formation available  as  to  the  prices  the  French  of  Louis- 
iana paid  for  negro  slaves.  The  Company  of  the  Indies  fixed 
them  at  660  livres  for  a  black  between  the  ages  of  seven- 
teen and  forty,  and  440  for  those  from  eight  to  ten.  Pay- 
ments were  to  be  made  in  three  equal  parts,  either  in  rice 
and  tobacco  or  notes  of  the  Company.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  year  if  the  obligation  was  not  met  the  slave  became 
again  the  property  of  the  Company.  If  the  negro  on  being 
resold  did  not  bring  enough  to  satisfy  the  debt,  the  person 
who  bought  the  black  in  the  first  instance  was  to  pay  the 
balance.3  In  1723,  a  dispute  arose  between  the  settlers  and 
the  Company  over  the  price  of  rice  used  in  paying  for 
negroes.  The  former  were  contending  for  twenty  Hvres 
for  a  barrel  that  weighed  only  a  little  more  than  100 
pounds,  while  the  latter  demanded  one  of  130,  the  ordi- 
nary weight  for  such  commodities.4 

The  selling  price  of  slaves  did  not  remain  at  660  livres 
long  after  it  was  legalized.  In  1722,  it  advanced  to  1,000 
livres  and  for  a  full-grown,  healthy  negro  did  not  go  below 
that  during  the  time  of  the  control  of  the  province  by  the 
Company.5  In  1724,  however,  800  livres  would  be  re- 
ceived by  it  if  lead  were  given  in  payment.6  There  seem 

1  Dubroca,  L'ltineraire  des  Frangais  dans  la  Louisiane,  p.  84. 

2  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  145. 

3  La  Harpe,  pp.  289,  291 ;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  vi,  fol.  239;  SVr.  A, 
vol.  xxiii,  Sept.  27,  1721. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  45. 

5  Infra,  p.  249. 

6  A.  N.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  viii,  fols.  103-104. 


247] 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE 


247 


to  have  been  no  sales  under  this  arrangement.  In  1727,  a 
priest  tried  to  secure  a  slave  from  a  dying  man  for  800 
livres  but  no  mention  is  made  of  the  lead.  The  matter 
went  to  the  superior  council  for  settlement,  where  it  was 
decided  the  negro  was  still  a  part  of  the  estate  which  was 
later  sold  at  public  sale  where  the  slave  brought  1,330 
livres.1  Blacks  sometimes  sold  collectively  ~  for  less  than 
1,000  livres.3  Nevertheless  the  Company,  in  1732,  was 
able  to  secure  from  25,000  to  30,000  livres  for  lots  of  ten 
and  twelve,  all  skilled  laborers,  therefore  not  an  extrava- 
gant price.4  What  quotations  are  available  for  the  differ- 
ent sexes  all  show  that  males  usually  brought  more  than 
females,5  and  children  much  less  than  adults; 6  and  in  1732 
a  cash  payment  of  600  livres  was  equivalent  to  900  on  a 
credit  of  three  years.7  The  next  year  the  price  was  low, 
blacks  bringing  at  auction  only  400,  500  and  700  livres 

iA.N.,  Sfr.  C18,  vol.  x,  fols.  249,  250. 

Dates.                                                Number.  Livres. 

1721 500  150,000 

1724 • 7  4,500 

1731 9  2,700 

I73i 80  99,327 

1731 87  87,000 

1732 12  30,OOO 

1732 20O  l82,OOO 

1733 50  42,000 

1735 54  42,500 

1736 8  10,000 

1738 5  3,ooo 

1739 225  157,500 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  viii,  fol.  104. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fols.  13,  14. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  F8,  vol.  ccxlii,  M.  S.  S.  M.     Women,  750  livres ;  men, 
850;  girls,  550;  boys,  650. 

6  Ibid. 

'  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xv,  fol.  22. 


248 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


048 


apiece.1  In  1734,  it  was  doubled,  adults  selling  for  1,400 
livres.2  A  decrease  in  the  importation  from  Africa  caused 
it,  by  1743,  to  advance  to  1,800  livres  a  head;  at  this  time  a 
lot  of  twenty-nine  men,  fourteen  women  and  eleven  chil- 
dren brought  42,500  livres.3  At  a  public  sale  in  New  Or- 
leans, in  1763,  there  was  a  wide  range  of  prices  when  the 
slaves  were  sold  either  singly  or  in  families.4 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  96,  97;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  167,  169. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  25-29. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  205-207;  vol.  xxii,  fols.  196-197. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 


Value  in  livres  of  negroes  sold  singly  and  in  groups. 

Man,  wife 


Man 

Man  and  wife 

Man,  wife 

daughters   daughter, 

son 

son      2  sons 

420 

20150 

5690 

11500     10100 

2COO 

4000 

6850 

13200     20050 

3050 

55°° 

7000 

14125 

3800 

6500 

750° 

Man,  wife, 

4610 

7260 

75°° 

son,  2 

5400 

7800 

I220O 

daughters 

555° 

8150 

12200 

10150 

6000 

8400 

6020 

8400 

Man,  son, 

6200 

8450 

daughter 

6260 

8550 

9900 

7000 

10200  (indgt.) 

"550 

7050 

10650 

12050 

7100 

IIOOO 

17500 

7500 

II2OO 

18500 

8000 

11450 

10700  (Bl.  S) 

12600 

Man,  wife, 

12250  mason 

mother 

13000 

13100 

Women 

Man  and  son 

6700 

6550 

10700     Woman  and  son 

735° 

Boy  (16  yrs.) 

5100 

Man,  wife    Man,  wife 

3  sons 

daughter 

24000 


145310 


156060 


141540 


38825 


40300 


24000 


Totals:   132  negroes  brought  546,035  livres. 


249] 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE 


249 


5500 


50OO 


3500 


2500 


500 


ITOO    I70S     ITtO     ms     tTZO     1725    »T3O    1733    I74O     I74S     ITSO     1733     1760 


Diagram  I,  the  number  of  negroes  landed. 

Diagram  II,  the  entire  number  of  negroes  in  the  province. 

Diagram  III,  the  entire  number  of  Indian  slaves  in  the  province. 


Diagram  IV,  number  of  negroes  taken  on  board  in  Africa. 
Diagram  V,  the  number  landed  in  Louisiana. 
Variations  of  the  two,  mortality  during  the  voyage. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA 

TRADE  in  Louisiana,  like  the  colony  itself,  developed 
slowly,  due  for  the  most  part  to  the  fact  that  the  first 
settlers  were  either  fortune-seekers  or  exiles  from  France 
because  of  their  crimes;  therefore  neither  class  was  fitted 
for  pioneer  work.  Absolute  want,  however,  forced  some 
of  them  to  take  up  agriculture.  By  1710  there  were  settlers 
who  were  producing  more  than  they  consumed  and  this 
year  sold  to  the  officials  8,140  livres,  18  sols  worth  of 
native  products  for  the  maintenance  of  the  garrison.1 

The  Crozat  regime  was  most  detrimental  to  trade.  In 
the  first  place  the  price  offered  for  colonial  products  was 
entirely  out  of  proportion  to  that  demanded  for  French 
merchandise.  This  condition  created  discord  between  the 
settlers  and  the  officials  and  discouraged  the  former  from 
attempting  to  produce  in  excess  of  consumption.  Secondly, 
the  local  agents,  following  their  instructions,  persistently 
encouraged  the  settlers,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  their  farms, 
to  spend  their  time  in  a  futile  search  for  mines  that  were 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  fols.  529-530.     Products  supplied : 

Liv.       Sols. 
180  quintals,  99  pounds  of  fresh  lard   

34  quintals,  79  pounds  of  fresh  beef  6,470  10 

116  barrels  corn,  14  liv.,  8  sols  bbl.  of  150  Ibs 1,670  08 

Total 8,140  18 

250  [250 


251]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          251 

believed  to  be  located  somewhere  in  the  interior  of  the 
province.1  The  unfair  dealings  the  colonists  received  from 
the  resident  officials  caused  many  irregularities  in  trade. 
The  "  ordonnateur  ",  writing  on  June  3,  1716,  asserts  there 
were  at  Mobile  not  more  than  forty  settlers;  that  there 
were  so  few  domestic  animals  in  the  province  that  beef 
was  selling  at  nine  sols  a  pound,  moreover  the  colonists 
were  finding  it  hard  to  provide  themselves  with  food  of  any 
kind.2  On  August  23  of  this  year,  in  order  to  eliminate 
some  of  the  abuses,  the  governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  issued 
an  ordinance  making  it  a  crime  punishable  with  a  fine  of  50 
pistoles  for  any  person  to  kill  domestic  animals  belonging 
to  another,  without  first  securing  the  consent  of  the  owner; 
at  the  same  time  the  price  of  beef  was  fixed  at  four  sols,  six 
deniers  a  pound ;  veal,  two  months  old,  at  six  sols  a  pound. 
To  sell  at  a  higher  rate  was  to  be  punished  by  a  fine  of 
30  livres.3 

The  Company  of  the  West  recognizing  that  its  predeces- 
sor's failure  was  due  in  part,  at  least,  to  a  too  great  restric- 
tion of  the  trade  of  the  province,  inaugurated  a  system  that 
allowed  the  settlers  much  liberty  in  domestic  exchanges.4 
Notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  conditions  in  which  the 
province  had  been  placed,  it  had  grown.  At  this  time  there 
were  in  lower  Louisiana  garrisons  at  Mobile,  Alibamon, 
Yazou  and  on  Dauphin  Island.5  Life  in  the  province,  how- 
ever, was  still  hard  to  maintain.6  Meat  was  very  expensive, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  the  price  had  been  fixed  by  law. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C1S,  vol.  iii,  fols.  197-207,  210-217,  216-223,  251-253. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  fols.  391-392. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  23,  1716. 

4  Lettres  Patentes,  Aug.,  1717,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  v,  fol.  86. 

6  Ibid.,  fols.  44-45,  46. 


252  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [252 

Fowl  at  the  time  were  selling  at  three  livres,  12  sols,  each, 
and  all  other  provisions  at  equally  high  prices.1 

By  1720  Mobile,  though  still  the  capital,  was  no  longer 
the  only  market  place  in  the  province.  New  Orleans  al- 
ready had  become  one  for  the  planters  nearby,  and  those 
all  along  the  Mississippi.2  The  trade,  to  be  sure  was  small. 
The  Company,  however,  was  doing  all  that  it  could  to  aug- 
ment it.3  To  this  end  the  colony  was  divided  into  nine 
military  districts  4  as  follows :  New  Orleans,  Biloxi,  Mobile, 
Alibamon,  Natchez,  Yazou,  Natchitoches,  Arkansas  and  the 
Illinois  country,  each  district  being  provided  with  a  gar- 
risoned post.5  In  order  to  regulate  prices  of  merchandise 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  province,  the  Company  fixed 
them  for  Mobile,  Dauphin  Island  and  Biloxi  at  50  per  cent 
advance  on  the  coast  in  France.  To  these  prices  five  per 
cent  was  to  be  added  if  sold  at  New  Orleans,  10  per  cent  at 
Natchez,  15  per  cent  at  Yazou,  20  per  cent  at  Natchitoches 
and  50  per  cent  on  the  Illinois  and  Missouri.6  On  Septem- 
ber 20,  1721  there  was  another  adjustment  of  prices,  the 
Company  of  the  Indies  fixing  them  at  50  per  cent  on  the 
cost  in  France  for  the  posts  of  Alibamon,  Biloxi,  Mobile 
and  New  Orleans;  at  70  per  cent  for  Natchez  and  Yazou; 
at  80  per  cent  for  Natchitoches  and  on  the  Arkansas,  and 
at  100  per  cent  in  the  Illinois  country.7 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O«,  fol.  48. 

2  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G1,  vol.  464;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  166; 
vol.  ii,  pp.  253-255. 

3  A.  N.,  C.}  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fols.  14,  20,  21. 

4  Supra,  p.  26. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fols.  218,  219. 

6  Ordonnance  de  la  Compagnie  d'Occident,  April  25,  1719,  N.  Y.  Pub. 
Lib. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xii,  fol.  204;  La  Harpe,  p.  293. 


253]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA  253 

Biloxi  was  at  this  time  supplying  the  new  settlers  with 
cattle,  hogs  and  fowls,  as  well  as  fresh  meat  to  the  crews 
on  the  ocean-going  vessels.1  Every  year  the  hunters  went 
to  the  St.  Frangais  river  for  a  supply  of  salt  buffalo  meat 
for  the  New  Orleans  market.2  On  July  17,  1722  the  su- 
perior council  fixed  the  maximum  price  for  fowls  at  three 
livres,  each,  for  Biloxi;  at  40  sols  for  New  Orleans  and 
Mobile;  spring  chickens  at  30  sols  for  the  former  and  20 
sols  for  the  two  latter  villages.  Everywhere  in  lower 
Louisiana  fresh  beef  was  to  sell  for  not  more  than  ten  sols 
a  pound,  buffalo  meat,  fresh  or  salted,  at  eight  sols,  venison 
at  four  livres  a  quarter.3  A  fine  of  200  livres  was  to  be  im- 
posed upon  persons  who  violated  the  law.  The  day  after 
its  publication  a  settler  sold  beef  at  1 5  sols  a  pound  and  was 
promptly  arrested  and  fined.  Other  similar  offenses  were 
dealt  with  in  the  same  fashion.4  This  year  part  of  the  salt 
meat  for  New  Orleans  was  provided  by  the  hunters  of 
Pointe  Coupee  who  supplied  5,000  pounds  of  it,  cured  from 
80  buffaloes.5 

In  1723  it  was  claimed  by  the  "  ordonnateur  "  that  if 
every  vessel  that  stopped  at  Cape  Frangais  on  the  way  to 
Louisiana  would  bring  six  or  seven  cows,  the  number  of 
cattle  in  the  province  soon  would  make  it  possible  for  the 
butchers  at  New  Orleans  to  kill  two  animals  a  week.  The 
price  at  the  Cape  was  only  40  livres  a  head  and  each  one  in 
Louisiana  would  sell  for  600,  thereby  making  such  trans- 
actions very  profitable  to  the  shipper.  Beef  at  this  time 
was  selling  at  ten  sols  a  pound,  the  highest  price  allowable 

1  A.,  B.  de  I' A.,  vol.  4497,  fol.  64. 
*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  150. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fols.  417-418,  421-422. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  329. 

6  La  Harpe,  p.  309. 


254  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [254 

by  the  law.1  It  seems  to  have  been  impossible  to  keep  it 
longer  at  that  rate,  therefore,  in  1725,  the  superior  council 
advanced  it  to  12  sols  for  fresh  beef,  and  made  the  punish- 
ment for  violations  50  livres,  payable  to  the  person  bring- 
ing about  the  conviction.2  In  October  of  the  following  year 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  asserted  that  for  some  months  it  had 
been  possible  to  procure  fresh  meat  daily  at  the  markets 
of  New  Orleans,  due  to  importation  of  cattle  from  St. 
Domingue.3  Two  Canadian  hunters,  in  1727,  carried  to 
the  capital  480  buffalo  tongues  from  the  animals  they  had 
killed  during  the  winter.  The  usual  method  was  to  sun 
dry  the  flanks  and  salt  the  remainder.4 

By  1728  there  was  in  Louisiana  a  great  need  for  stand- 
ardizing the  weights  and  measures  used  in  trade  and  May 
7,  the  superior  council  fixed  the  standards  for  many  articles. 
In  the  case  of  beef  360  pounds,  henceforward,  were  to  be 
considered  a  hogshead,  240  pounds  a  cask,  180  a  "  quart  " 
and  90  pounds  an  "  ancre."  5  During  the  last  years  of  the 
control  of  the  province  by  the  Company  buffalo  meat  and 
venison  sold  at  six  sols  and  beef  at  eight  sols  a  pound,  paid 
in  paper  money.  The  suppression  of  this  currency,6  how- 
ever, brought  the  former  to  four  and  the  latter  to  six  sols 
a  pound.  During  this  period  the  soldiers,  in  winter,  were 
given  but  two  sols  a  day  for  meat  in  order  to  force  them  to 
forage  for  the  remainder  of  such  food.  In  summer  they 
were  allowed  a  slightly  larger  amount,  since  game  at  that 
season  was  not  made  use  of.7 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vii,  fol.  19. 
J  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  24,  1725. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fols.  117-118. 

*  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixvii,  p.  285. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 

'  Supra,  p.  122. 

'  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xix,  fols.  18-20. 


255]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA  255 

By  1732  the  German  settlers  ten  leagues  above  New 
Orleans  consisted  of  more  than  60  families  all  very  indus- 
trious and  prosperous.  These  men  supplied  the  New 
Orleans  markets  with  large  quantities  of  fowls.1  The 
"  ordonnateur "  in  1733,  bought  meat  coming  from  the 
Illinois  country  at  four  sols  a  pound.  The  salt  used  in 
curing  it  was  of  inferior  quality  and  6,000  pounds  of  the 
amount  purchased  spoiled  before  it  could  be  consumed. 
Early  in  the  following  year  Salmon  thereby  was  put  to  the 
trouble  of  procuring  more  with  which  to  feed  the  troops 
until  the  end  of  November  when  game  would  be  fit  for  use 
again.2  In  March  1734  one  of  the  settlers  petitioned  the 
ordonnateur  "  to  give  him  the  entire  contract  for  supply- 
ing New  Orleans  with  meat  at  four  sols  a  pound  for  the 
soldiers  and  at  five  to  the  general  public.  The  exclusive 
privilege  was  granted,  perhaps,  because  it  was  recommended 
by  Bienville  who  believed  it  would  be  a  decided  advantage 
to  the  province.  The  cattle  for  the  supply  were  to  be  drawn 
from  Mobile,  Dauphin  Island  and  Natchitoches  where  they 
were  raised  in  excess  of  local  consumption,  instead  of  ex- 
clusively from  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  as  heretofore.3 

An  ordinance  was  issued  in  1735  requiring  all  persons 
to  have  game  inspected  before  it  could  be  sold  upon  the 
streets  of  New  Orleans.  Any  one  violating  the  law  was  to 
be  punished  by  confiscation  of  the  merchandise  and  a  fine 
of  50  livres.4  In  1737  two  butchers  were  supplying  the 
capital  with  beef  at  six  sols  a  pound  for  the  best  cuts  and 
five  for  the  poor  grades.  Cattle  continued  to  be  drawn 
from  Natchitoches  for  this  market.  In  May  the  supply 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  138. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  18-20. 
s  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Jan.  2,  1735. 


256  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [256 

from  that  post  had  not  reached  the  lower  Mississippi,  due 
to  the  bad  condition  of  navigation  of  the  Red  river.  Com- 
mandant St.  Denis,  at  this  time,  informed  the  officials  that 
from  60  to  80  head  were  on  the  way  and  could  be  expected 
to  reach  New  Orleans  some  time  during  the  following 
month.  As  a  protection  to  the  herds  in  this  part  of  the 
province  veal  was  not  now  permitted  to  be  sold.1 

On  May  18,  1737  the  "  ordonnateur  "  issued  an  ordin- 
ance which  fixed  the  price  of  meat  and  made  it  illegal  to  kill 
any  domestic  animal  without  first  having  it  inspected  by  an 
official.  The  slaughter  of  suckling  calves  was  forbidden 
and  also  of  cows,  bulls,  oxen,  sheep  and  hogs,  unless  a 
declaration  of  such  a  procedure  had  been  made  in  advance 
at  the  office  of  the  "  ordonnateur  ".'  On  July  27  Salmon 
issued  another,  making  it  illegal  to  sell  fish  that  had  not 
been  passed  upon  by  a  government  inspector.3 

The  disorder  in  the  finances  of  the  colony  in  1739  4 
brought  about  a  disarrangement  in  the  price  of  many  com- 
modities, for  example  turkeys  that  had  sold  at  from  50  sols 
to  three  livres,  each,  advanced  to  ten  livres.5  Because  of 
the  Indian  war,  nevertheless,  it  was  thought  advisable  to 
provide  meat  to  the  troops  at  four,  that  cost  the  govern- 
ment six  sols  a  pound,  the  legal  price.  Moreover  the  army 
officers  were,  in  addition,  to  be  supplied  with  hams  and 
salted  tongues.6  Some  of  the  stock-raisers  of  the  province 
now  had  quite  large  herds.  Anticipating  a  greater  demand 
for  beef  due  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of  soldiers  for 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  148-151. 
zlbid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  May  18,  1737. 

*  Ibid.,  July  27,  1737. 

*  Supra,  pp.  129-130. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  133. 

6  Ibid.,  fols.  8-9,  139-140. 


257]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA 

the  war  against  the  Chickasaw,  they  advanced  the  price  of 
cattle.  The  "  ordonnateur  "  believed  the  rise  unwarranted 
and  on  August  29,  1739  issued  an  ordinance  fixing  the  price 
to  the  butchers  at  the  same  amount  as  before  the  arrival 
of  the  troops.1 

After  the  close  of  the  Indian  war  the  price  of  meat  be- 
came more  stable.  In  1744  there  were  "  every  day  at  the 
shambles  beef,  veal  and  mutton."  In  winter  the  shops  had 
buffalo  meat  and  all  sorts  of  game  which,  even  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  did  not  prevent  the  killing  daily  of 
domestic  animals.  Pork  was  common  food  for  all.  Much 
of  it  was  slaughtered  by  the  colonists  themselves,  therefore 
did  not  pass  through  the  shops.  The  slaves,  even,  were 
able  to  provide  themselves  with  pork  and  fowls.  Domestic 
beef,  at  this  time,  sold  at  six  sols  a  pound,  suckling  pigs  at 
100  sols,  each,  turkeys  at  from  three  to  four  livres  apiece, 
geese  at  50  sols,  ducks  at  25  sols  and  teal  at  12  sols  each.2 

By  1745  the  butchers  of  New  Orleans  were  placing  such 
high  prices  on  veal  that  on  March  22  Governor  Vaudreuil 
issued  an  ordinance  making  it  illegal  for  them  to  charge 
more  than  three  livres,  15  sols  a  quarter.  This  ruling,  in- 
tended to  protect  the  general  public,  was  also  beneficial  in 
that  it  tended  to  prevent  a  too  great  slaughter  of  young 
animals,  that  in  a  short  time  would  yield  a  much  larger 
supply.3  By  another  ordinance,  July  12,  the  planters  along 
the  Mississippi  were  each  week  to  bring  to  the  New  Orleans 
market  two  beeves  to  be  used  in  supplying  the  troops  with 
meat.4 

For  some  time  stock-raising  in  all  parts  of  the  province, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  29,  1739. 
z  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  pp.  14,  19. 
s  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  March  22,  1745. 
4  Ibid.,  July  12,  1745. 


258  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [258 

and  especially  at  Mobile  and  Natchitoches,  had  been  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  excellent  prices  of  meat.  In  1746  it  was 
estimated  that  there  were  10,000  head  of  cattle  in  the  colony 
and  also  many  good-sized  flocks  of  sheep  and  large  droves 
of  hogs.  It  was  the  belief,  at  the  time,  that  in  future  such 
foods  would  be  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  province.  This 
conviction,  moreover,  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  salt 
fish  was  now  being  put  upon  the  market  in  considerable 
amounts.  The  by-products,  such  as  cowhides,  sheepskins 
and  wool,  were  selling  at  good  prices,  all  of  which  tended 
to  make  the  trade  profitable  to  those  engaged  in  it.1 

When  Normant  came  as  "  ordonnateur  "  to  New  Orleans 
in  1747  he  found  the  old  rule  for  the  sale  of  merchandise 
at  the  different  posts  of  the  province  not  being  observed ;  in 
some  cases  the  goods  sold  for  more,  while  in  others  for  less 
than  the  legal  rate.  Moreover  the  trade  contained  many 
abuses  which  he  at  once  set  about  to  eliminate,  at  least, 
some  of  the  more  flagrant  of  them.  Since  the  plan  of  hav- 
ing different  prices  for  the  same  kind  of  merchandise  at 
the  various  posts  of  the  province  had  not  worked  well,  he 
proposed  to  make  them  the  same  throughout  the  province. 
Rate  fixing  heretofore  had  not  worked  well.  For  the  most 
part  all  commodities  went  on  selling  for  just  the  same  as 
before  the  change.  Under  the  arrangement  in  question  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  did  not  propose  to  include  foodstuffs ; 
therefore,  he  believed  it  would  be  observed.2 

A  contagion  among  animals  in  lower  Louisiana  appeared 
in  1748  and  continued  to  manifest  itself  for  about  three 
years,  during  which  time  the  herds  were  greatly  reduced 
in  size.  By  1749  there  were  frequent  shortages  in  the  meat 
supply  for  New  Orleans.  In  winter  beef,  veal,  mutton, 

*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  242-282. 
*Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  125-127. 


259]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          259 

buffalo  meat,  venison,  turkeys  and  ducks  usually  could  be 
procured.  Nevertheless  it  was  pointed  out  that  game  was 
becoming  less  abundant  each  succeeding  year  and  no  longer 
could  be  relied  upon  for  sustenance  when  other  food  failed. 
This  fact  no  doubt  was  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
officials  just  at  this  time  by  the  presentation  for  payment  of 
a  bill  of  between  1,000  and  1,200  livres  for  game  that  during 
the  year  had  been  provided  for  the  table  of  a  commander  of 
a  convoy  during  his  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  the 
Illinois  country.  Therefore  in  order  to  make  the  colony 
self-supporting  in  meat  it  was  proposed  that  the  killing  of 
heifers  and  cows,  for  the  present,  should  be  prohibited  ab- 
solutely. Moreover  it  was  to  be  made  obligatory  for  each 
farmer  in  that  part  of  the  province  to  keep  as  many  domestic 
animals  as  his  land  would  maintain.1  The  mortality  among 
beasts  had  been  so  high  that  the  above  provision  was  not 
adequate.  In  1751,  therefore,  the  scarcity  of  domestic 
animals  had  become  so  great  that  the  "  ordonnateur  "  was 
obliged  to  finance  an  enterprise  for  procuring  them  from 
the  Spanish  colonies.  He  found  it  equally  necessary,  also, 
to  advance  money  for  the  establishment  of  fisheries  on 
Lake  Pontchartrain  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  fish  at  rea- 
sonable rates  daily  to  the  markets  of  New  Orleans  and  to 
the  troops.2  Before  the  end  of  the  year  he  made  such  an 
arrangement  with  one  of  the  colonists. 

In  1752  fowls  were  selling  in  New  Orleans  at  from  30  to 
35  sols  each,  spring  chickens  at  25  sols,  and  turkeys  at  from 
7  livres,  ten  sols  to  ten  livres.  In  season  much  game  was  to 
be  had  at  very  low  prices.  Throughout  the  year  it  was 
possible  to  procure  fish  which  sold  at  the  same  rate  per 
pound  as  beef.8 

1A.  N.,  C.,  S6r.  C18,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  153-156,  167-168;  vol.  xxxiv, 
fol.  294. 

'*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxv    fols.  26,  330-331. 
3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  334. 


260  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [26o 

By  1762  the  prices  of  meat  in  New  Orleans  had  advanced 
considerably.  Turkeys,  weighing  from  40  to  50  pounds, 
were  selling  for  45  livres;  capons,  for  17  livres,  ten  sols; 
fowls,  weighing  ten  pounds,  12  livres,  ten  sols;  spring  chick- 
ens, 7  livres,  ten  sols,  each ;  ducks  the  same  as  fowls ;  a  pair 
of  pigeons,  five  livres;  a  quarter  of  venison,  50  livres;  mut- 
ton, weighing  80  to  100  pounds,  90  livres;  and  beef  two 
livres,  ten  sols  a  pound.1  After  1762  there  are  no  further 
reports  made  concerning  the  meat  trade  of  Louisiana  while 
under  French  control. 

Lard,  tallow,  olive  oil,  bear's  oil,  butter,  eggs,  cheese  and 
milk  at  an  early  date  were  bought  and  sold  in  Louisiana. 
The  first  named  article  was  brought  from  France  as  well  as 
made  in  the  province  itself.  In  spite  of  these  two  sources 
there  was  often  a  great  shortage.2  In  1708  the  settlers  on 
the  Gulf  coast  agreed  to  supply  the  garrison  with  this  com- 
modity at  nine  sols  a  pound,  half  payable  in  cash,  the  re- 
mainder in  merchandise.3'  Up  to  1710  the  amount  thus  sup- 
plied was  180  quintals,  99  pounds.4  In  1714  it  was  selling 
for  15  livres  a  quintal,5  with  the  domestic  product  bringing 
at  the  same  time,  six  sols  a  pound.6  In  1725  the  retail 
price  for  fresh  lard  was  fixed  by  the  superior  council  at  12 
sols  a  pound.7  The  same  body,  in  1728,  adjusted  the 
weights  for  this  product  at  360  pounds  for  a  hogshead,  240 
pounds  for  a  barrel,  180  pounds  for  a  quintal  and  90  pounds 
for  an  "  ancre."  8  By  1735  the  price  of  both  French  and 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  f ols.  245-248 ;  vol.  xix,  fol.  19. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  237-248. 

4  Supra,  p.  250. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  287-309. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250,  251. 

7  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  24,  1725. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 


26l]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA  26l 

domestic  lard  had  fallen  to  six  sols  a  pound,1  but  in  1747 
it  advanced  to  ten  sols.2  The  stress  of  war  by  1762  made 
it  retail  at  New  Orleans  at  seven  livres,  ten  sols  a  pound.3 

Tallow  had  been  put  upon  the  market  as  early  as  1720 
by  the  hunters  from  the  Arkansas  district.4  It  was  widely 
used  by  both  the  French  and  Indians  for  illuminating  pur- 
poses and  by  the  former  was  sometimes  mixed  with  myrtle- 
wax  in  making  candles.5  In  some  measure  the  myrtle-wax 
supplanted  tallow  because  its  harvest  came  at  a  time  when 
there  was  little  to  be  done  on  the  plantations.  It  was  firmer 
also  in  a  warm  climate  like  that  of  Louisiana.  Moreover  it 
gave  a  clearer  light.  In  1747,  the  wax  sold  at  the  capital  at 
fifteen  sols  a  pound  and  it  was  believed  that  the  best  grade 
would  soon  bring  from  eighteen  to  twenty  sols.  The  amount 
put  upon  the  market  increased  each  year  and  in  1752  one 
planter  alone  produced  6,000  pounds.  A  number  of  other 
persons  was  producing  it  also  but  in  smaller  amounts.6  In 
1754  the  entire  output  of  this  commodity  and  that  of  bear's 
oil  was  valued  at  25,000  livres  annually.7 

Before  1719  olive  oil  had  had  some  sale  in  the  province. 
On  April  25,  1719,  the  Company  fixed  the  price  at  which 
it  should  be  sold  at  twelve  reaux,  one  livre,  ten  sols  a  pot, 
payable  in  silver.8  Notwithstanding  the  adjustment  of  the 
rate,  olive  oil  advanced  and  in  1726  was  reduced  from 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fol.  250;  vol.  xxi,  fol.  273;  Ser.  B,  vol. 
Ixiv,  fol.  518. 

J  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  127. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  150. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xv,  fol.  35. 
'  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  169. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  265. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  fol.  332. 


262  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [262 

forty  to  twenty-five  sols  a  pot.1  When  weights  and  meas- 
ures were  standardized  in  1728  a  hogshead  of  olive  oil  was 
henceforth  to  contain  100  pots;  a  "  quart  ",  forty-five  pots; 
and  an  "  ancre  ",  twenty-two  pots.2  Information  about  the 
sales  of  olive  oil  during  the  royal  regime  in  Louisiana  is 
very  scanty.  In  1735  it  was  again  selling  for  forty  sols  a 
pot,3  and  in  1762  advanced  to  thirty-three  and  a  third 
livres  a  pint.4 

The  French  of  Louisiana  learned  from  the  natives  to 
use  bear's  oil  and  soon  began  to  substitute  it  for  olive  oil.5 
It  was  claimed  by  some  to  be  quite  as  good  for  salads  as 
the  best  grades  of  the  latter.6  By  1719  the  settlers  of 
Natchitoches  were  carrying  it  to  New  Orleans.7  This  sup- 
ply was  augmented  by  hunters  who  left  the  capital  each 
winter  to  go  to  the  St.  Francois  river  to  hunt  bear.  In 
1721  it  was  plentiful  and  sold  at  twenty  sols  a  pint.8  There 
was  a  shortage  the  next  year  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Ar- 
kansas Indians  who  usually  furnished  New  Orleans  with 
something  like  2,500  or  3,000  pots  of  oil  annually  this  year 
had  none  to  sell.9  The  amount  thus  reduced,  the  prices  rose 
to  ten  and  twelve  livres  a  pot; 10  by  1735  it  was  down  to 
forty  sols.11  From  this  time  onward  the  hunters  and  In- 

1  A.  N.r  C.,  Ser.  Ci3,  vol.  ix,  fol.  254. 

2  Ibid.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250,  251. 
4  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fol.  51 ;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  pp.  88-90. 

*  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  230. 

7  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  150. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  207. 

9  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  382. 

10  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fols.  23,  24. 

11  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250,  251. 


263]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          263 

dians  continued  to  bring  bear's  oil  in  constantly  increasing 
quantities  to  the  markets  of  both  Mobile  and  New  Orleans, 
and  by  1754  the  sales  of  it  and  tallow  together  were  25,000 
livres  each  year.1  Six  years  later  the  oil  was  selling  in  New 
Orleans  at  twenty  livres  a  pot.2 

As  early  as  1731,  New  Orleans  became  the  butter  and 
cheese  market  for  the  German  settlements  and  continued 
as  such  to  the  end  of  the  French  control.3  From  the  large 
herds  in  the  Mobile  valley  a  supply  of  butter  and  cheese 
was  carried  both  to  Mobile  and  New  Orleans.  Ten  farmers 
at  Bayagoulas,  midway  between  those  two  villages,  like- 
wise provided  both  markets  with  these  commodities.4  The 
price  of  butter  like  all  foods  was  advanced  by  the  war,  and 
in  1762  was  selling  at  ten  livres  a  pound.5 

Eggs  were  market  products  in  1717  and  sold  at  fifty  sols 
a  dozen,6  which  price  was  maintained  at  both  Mobile  and 
New  Orleans  until  1723,*  when  it  dropped  to  sixteen  and 
eighteen  a  dozen.8  By  1727,  however,  the  price  of  eggs  at 
New  Orleans  was  at  forty-five  and  fifty  sols  a  dozen.9  A 
decline  followed  and  in  1752  they  were  eighteen,  twenty, 
thirty-two  sols,  six  deniers,  and  thirty-five  sols  a  dozen.10 
In  1762  eggs  had  advanced  to  three  livres,  fifteen  sols  a 
dozen.11 

1  Supra,  p.  261. 

I  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  138;  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  167. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  253. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  fol.  48. 

7  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fols.  417-418,  422. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fols.  23,  24. 

9  Gravier,  p.  30. 

10  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  334. 

II  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 


264  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [264 

Although  the  greater  part  of  the  people  of  the  province 
no  doubt  owned  a  cow  or  two  and  provided  themselves 
with  milk,  there  was  a  market  for  it  as  early  as  i/iS-1  In 
1716  the  inhabitants  at  Biloxi  were  selling  it  to  the  new- 
comers and  to  the  crews  of  vessels  that  at  times  touched 
there  at  forty  sols  a  pot.2  At  New  Orleans,  in  1723,  there 
was  a  dairy  carrying  on  a  trade.3  In  order  to  protect  the 
sick  from  the  extortionate  prices  of  the  dealers,  the  superior 
council  issued  an  ordinance,  July  24,  1725,  fixing  the  maxi- 
mum price  of  milk  at  fifteen  sols  a  pot  and  making  the  pun- 
ishment for  violations  a  fine  of  fifty  livres,  one-half  of 
which  was  to  go  to  the  informer,  the  remainder  to  the  hos- 
pital.4 For  a  time  the  law  seems  to  have  been  enforced,  for 
in  1727  milk  was  selling  in  New  Orleans  at  fourteen  sols  a 
pot,  half  of  the  ordinary  measure  used  in  France  by  milk 
dealers.5  In  1751,  there  was  a  new  dairy  established  at 
Bayagoulas,  the  cows  for  which  being  procured  at  Natchi- 
toches.  At  the  time  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  officials  that 
the  development  of  this  industry  would  be  an  advantage  to 
the  province.6  The  next  year  milk  sold  at  New  Orleans  at 
two  sols,  six  deniers  a  pot.7  Trade  in  this  commodity  was 
carried  on  at  the  different  posts  of  the  province.  In  1762, 
the  bill  from  one  of  these  alone  cost  the  royal  government 
20,000  francs  for  the  amount  consumed  in  a  single  year. 
The  chronicler  remarked  that  "  the  garrison  of  that  post 
must  have  been  suckled  all  that  year  ".8 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  iii,  fols.  209-310;  vol.  vii,  fol.  73. 

2  Dumont,  vol.  ii,  p.  53. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  73- 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  July  24,  1725. 
5  Gravier,  p.  30. 

«  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  97-98. 

T  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  334. 

1  Hist.  Colls,  of  La.,  pt.  v,  p.  136. 


265]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA  265 

The  supply  of  flour  for  lower  Louisiana  came  both  from 
France  and  from  the  Illinois  country,  the  climate  of  the 
Gulf  region  being  unsuited  to  the  growing  of  wheat.  The 
amount  secured  from  these  two  sources,  however,  was 
never  constant,  therefore  the  prices  were  most  variable. 
From  1713  to  1719,  flour  from  France  sold  at  Mobile  at 
twenty  piasters  (eighty  livres)a  barrel  of  180  pounds.1  When 
rates  were  fixed  by  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  in  1719, 
flour  was  placed  at  fifteen  livres  a  hundredweight.2  In 
1725,  the  Company  again  adjusted  prices;  this  time  the 
commodity  was  to  sell  at  sixty  livres  a  "quart",  160 
pounds,  an  amount  double  what  it  brought  in  1719. 3  The 
legal  measure  for  flour,  in  1728,  was  made  180  pounds  for 
a  "  quart  ".4  At  this  time  rice  flour  was  selling  at  three 
sols,  six  deniers  a  pound;  118  to  120  pounds  of  unhulled 
rice  sold  at  seven  to  eight  livres  and  made  about  fifty-nine 
pounds  of  flour.5  In  1734,  the  price  of  flour  from  France 
reached  at  New  Orleans  thirty  livres  a  barrel.6  Three 
years  later  it  advanced  to  forty  livres  a  quintal  or  eight 
sols  a  pound,7  but  dropped  the  following  year  to  twenty-two 
livres  a  quintal  for  both  the  domestic  and  French  articles.8 

In  1740,  a  "quart"  of  flour  brought  seventy  livres  and 
at  the  time  both  corn  and  rice  were  mixed  with  it  in  making 
bread.  In  1741,  it  became  so  scarce  that  it  could  be  given 
no  price.9  As  the  war  approached,  one  source  of  supply 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  216-223;  vol.  iv,  fols.  391-392. 

3  La  Harpe,  p.  176. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  viii,  fol.  181. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fol.  119. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  8-12;  vol.  xix,  fols.  151-157. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  140-147. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  127. 

9  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fol.  185. 


266  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [266 

was  cut  off;  therefore,  an  increase  in  the  price  followed, 
and  in  1747  it  was  selling  in  New  Orleans  at  seven  livres, 
ten  sols  a  pound.1  The  war  over,  the  price  again  became 
normal;  in  1752,  it  was  twenty  livres  a  hundredweight.2 
The  second  war  with  England  coming  so  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  first  threw  trade  into  more  disorder  than  ever ; 
in  1757,  flour  was  selling  at  280  livres3  and  in  1762  at  600 
livres  a  "  quart  "  of  160  pounds.4 

To  the  cost  of  flour  must  be  added  the  profit  of  the  baker 
and  the  shop-keeper  in  order  to  get  at  the  price  of  bread.  In 
1723,  the  officials  found  it  necessary  to  put  it  at  forty  sols 
a  pound.  This  year  some  very  poor  black  bread  was  sold 
by  a  woman  at  three  livres  a  pound,  whereupon  she  was  ar- 
rested and  brought  before  a  magistrate  who  demanded 
that  she  tell  from  whom  she  had  received  it.  She  at  first 
refused  to  answer,  but  upon  being  lodged  in  jail,  she  recon- 
sidered and  named  a  woman  as  the  person  from  whom  she 
had  purchased  it.  This  second  woman  was  forthwith  ar- 
rested and  likewise  questioned.  She  declined,  at  first,  to 
state  from  whom  she  had  received  the  bread,  saying  she 
could  not  remember  the  name,  but  that  it  was  a  soldier, 
whereupon  she  was  sent  to  jail  to  spend  the  night  and  re- 
freshen her  memory  on  a  diet  of  water  and  some  of  the 
bread  she  had  sold.  The  next  morning  she  still  asserted 
that  she  could  not  recall  the  name  of  the  soldier.  On  hear- 
ing the  order  that  the  incarceration  and  diet  be  continued 
she  burst  into  tears,  giving  the  name  of  the  baker  who  was 
responsible  for  the  making  of  such  a  quality  of  bread.  She 
further  informed  the  magistrate  that  she  had  been  carrying 
on  the  trade  secretly  for  some  months  but  declared  that 

1  A.  N,t  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  127. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  334. 

3  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  80. 

«  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 


267]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          267 

during  that  time  she  had  never  sold  it  at  more  than  twenty 
sols  a  pound.  Here  the  examination  ended.  The  woman 
was  fined  500  livres  and  commanded  at  once  to  return  to 
her  last  customer  the  thirteen  livres  she  had  received  from 
her  for  the  bread.1  A  similar  complaint  was  made  in  1725 
against  a  baker  in  New  Orleans  who  sold  it  to  a  Spanish 
captain  at  three  reaux  a  pound,  which  price  it  was  claimed 
was  detrimental  to  the  building-up  of  a  trade  with  Spain's 
colonies.2  Still,  much  of  the  bread  used  by  the  colonists 
was  made  in  whole  or  part  of  corn  meal  or  rice  flour. 
In  1727  it  sold  at  the  capital  for  ten  sols  a  pound.3  For 
some  time  before  the  crown  took  over  the  province  in  1731 
the  bread  for  the  troops  had  been  made  half  rice;  it  was 
proposed  to  continue  the  practice  since  it  made  it  about  a 
fourth  cheaper,  even  if  it  did  fall  short  of  making  the 
same  amount  as  wheat  flour  by  about  twenty  pounds  a  hun- 
dredweight.4 

The  storm  that  visited  the  province  in  1732  completely 
destroyed  the  bakery  at  New  Orleans  that  had  been  engaged 
to  provide  bread  for  the  troops.5  The  royal  government's 
bakers  at  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  were  receiving  400 
livres  a  month  for  their  services,  while  a  negro  at  the  Balise 
was  doing  the  same  work  quite  as  well  for  his  clothes  and 
a  soldier's  rations.  It  was  the  belief  that  the  cost  of  bread 
for  the  troops  could  be  reduced  at  the  first  two  places 
named.0  In  1744  bread  sold  in  New  Orleans  at  twelve 
sols  a  pound,  if  paid  for  in  silver,  but  at  sixteen  sols,  eight 
deniers,  if  colonial  money  were  given  in  exchange.7 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fols.  49-50. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fol.  137. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  fol.  198 ;  vol.  xii,  fol.  135 ;  Gravier,  p.  30. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  16;  vol.  xviii,  fols.  24-27. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  192-195.  6  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fol.  58. 
T  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  pp.  14,  27. 


268  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [268 

By  1720  rice  was  grown  all  along  the  Mississippi  and 
could  be  procured  in  great  abundance.  Its  price  the  next 
year  was  fixed  by  the  Company  at  twelve  livres  a  quintal.1 
Soon,  however,  it  began  to  fluctuate,  and  in  1726  was 
twenty  livres  a  barrel,  of  200  pounds.2  Only  two  years  later 
unhulled  rice  was  as  low  as  seven  or  eight  livres  a  barrel, 
of  118  and  120  pounds.3  The  last  year  of  the  Company's 
control  of  the  province  it  paid  three  livres  a  "quart",  and  in 
some  instances  not  above  forty-five  sols  for  that  quantity 
of  rice.  When  the  transfer  was  made,  the  crown  took  over 
8,000  barrels  of  it  that  was  then  in  the  storehouse  at  the 
Company's  rate  of  three  livres  a  barrel.4  Almost  the  entire 
crop  of  the  commodity  was  lost  in  the  storm  of  1732. 
Rice  became  scarce  and  the  price  advanced.  Some  of  the 
planters,  in  order  to  keep  their  slaves  from  starving,  were 
obliged  to  pay  for  it  as  much  as  fifty-two  livres  a  "  quart  ". 
For  the  purpose  of  protecting  these  men  from  such  extor- 
tion an  ordinance  was  issued  making  the  further  practice 
of  it  illegal.5  Before  the  end  of  the  year  rice  had  dropped 
to  twenty  livres  for  a  barrel  of  200  pounds.6  In  1735  the 
price  was  three  livres  a  "  quart  ",  but  a  bad  harvest  in  1736 
advanced  it  to  seven  livres,  and  in  a  few  instances  it  was 
seven  livres,  ten  sols.7  In  1737  it  sold  at  six  and  seven 
livres  a  quintal.8  In  1738  the  shortage  of  the  crops  was 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  20;  vol.  vii,  fols.  168-169;  Ser.  B, 
vol.  xliii,  fol.  88. 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  x,  fol.  152. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  112-113. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fol.  97;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  78-84. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fol.  97 ;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  78-84. 
«  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  387. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  105-109,  123-125;  vol.  xxi,  fols.  256- 
260. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  121-123,  140-147. 


269]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA  369 

somewhat  offset  by  an  abundant  harvest  in  the  Illinois  coun- 
try. The  products  from  that  part  of  the  province  not  only 
held  prices  at  normal  level  but  were  able  to  reduce  rice  to 
seven  and  eight  livres  a  quintal.1  Floods  in  1741  swept 
away  the  greater  part  of  the  rice  produced  that  year  and 
caused  the  price  to  advance  from  six  to  twelve  livres  a 
barrel,2  the  next  year  hulled  rice  sold  at  twenty-five  livres 
a  quintal.3 

Corn  for  lower  Louisiana  was  secured  both  from  the 
natives  and  Europeans,  therefore  should  have  been  plenti- 
ful and  cheap.  As  early  as  1710  the  settlers  provided  the 
government  with  116  barrels  of  150  pounds  each,  at  four- 
teen livres,  eight  sols  a  barrel,  to  be  used  as  food  for  the 
troops.4  In  1716  it  sold  at  three  piastres  a  barrel  of  200 
pounds.5  La  Harpe  on  his  journey  up  the  Mississippi  in 
1719  met  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  river  some  Natchitoches 
farmers  who  were  carrying  their  products  to  New  Orleans. 
He  bought  from  them  five  barrels  of  corn,  for  which  he 
paid  five  piastres  each.6  The  next  year  corn  at  the  same 
post  was  selling  at  sixteen  livres  a  barrel.7  In  1735  it 
brought  two  livres  a  "minot."  The  bad  harvest  the  following 
year  caused  the  price  to  advance  to  seven  livres  in  1736 8  and 
to  nine  in  I738.9  The  floods  mentioned  above  destroyed 
large  quantities  of  corn,  which  became  so  scant  that  it  sold 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  153;  vol.  xxiii,  134-137. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  67,  130. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  5-8. 

4  Supra,  p.  250. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  iv,  fol.  624. 
'  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  251. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  231. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fol.  256;  vol.  xxii,  fols.  121-123. 

9  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiii,  fol.  120. 


270  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [270 

at  fifteen  and  sixteen  livres  a  barrel.1  In  1750  the  price 
was  still  high,  due  to  a  great  scarcity.2  In  1754  there  was 
a  large  yield  in  this  commodity.3  It  sold  in  1760  at  ten 
livres  a  "  quart ".  At  this  time  it  was  necessary  to  buy  a 
supply  for  the  royal  storehouse.  Rochemore  received  an 
offer  of  the  entire  amount  needed,  delivered  at  the  store- 
house at  ten  livres.  The  "  ordonnateur  ",  being  unfriendly 
to  the  grain  dealer,  refused  to  take  it.  Instead  he  bought 
what  was  wanted,  2,312  "  quarts  ",  at  Pointe  Coupee,  pay- 
ing also  ten  livres.  An  additional  expense  was  incurred  in 
transporting  it  to  New  Orleans  and  placing  it  in  the  store- 
house; a  cost  to  the  government  of  18,099  livres,  nine  sols 
and  three  deniers.4  In  1763  corn  sold  at  four  livres,  five 
sols,  three  livres,  ten  sols  and  three  livres,  five  sols  a 
"  quart  ".5  Of  the  trade  in  other  kinds  of  grain  grown  in 
Louisiana  there  are  few  records.  On  April  25,  1719,  how- 
ever, the  Company  fixed  the  price  of  rye  at  seven,  wheat 
at  ten  and  oats  and  barley  at  four  livres  a  hundredweight, 
which  perhaps  would  indicate  some  trade  in  these  commo- 
dities.6 

The  first  products  put  upon  the  market  by  the  French 
settlers  on  the  Gulf  coast  were  vegetables  which  were  of- 
fered to  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison.7  The  amount  of  such 
foodstuffs  increased  as  the  province  developed,  and  in  1719 
one  planter  alone  sent  to  market  200  livres  worth  of  corn, 
beans,  potatoes,  other  vegetables  and  fruit;  while  a  second 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  67,  130. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fol.  298. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  176. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xlii,  fol.  78- 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 
•  La  Harpe,  p.  176. 

'  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  iii,  fols.  213-214. 


271]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          271 

sent  a  similar  assortment  which  brought  100  livres.1  This 
year  La  Harpe  bought  five  barrels  of  so-called  "Apalaches" 
beans  from  the  Toniac  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red 
river,  which  was  all  that  tribe  had  to  sell.2  In  1720  these 
beans  brought  from  Nachitoches  sold  in  New  Orleans  at 
sixteen  liyres  a  barrel.3  At  the  same  time  the  colonists  on 
the  Mississippi  were  supplying  that  market  with  beans, 
potatoes  and  vegetables.4  The  farmers  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  village  in  1722  were  selling  beans  to  the  soldiers  at 
twenty-five  sols  a  pound,  a  price  so  exorbitant  that  the  "  or- 
donnateur  "  requested  Bienville  to  fix  the  maximum  for 
the  retail  price  at  four  sols  a  pound,  thirty  livres  a  barrel. 
It  was  claimed  the  petition  was  just,  since  eighteen  livres  a 
barrel  made  the  producer  a  good  profit.5  By  1723  there 
was  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  vegetables,  most  of  which 
brought  good  prices  at  New  Orleans  where,  for  example, 
watermelons  in  season  sold  for  three  livres  each;  and  a 
"handful"  of  peas  at  fifty  and  sixty  sols.6  The  next  year  the 
harvest  of  corn,  rice  and  beans  for  the  New  Orleans  district 
alone  was  5,093  barrels,  and  the  potato  crop  2,9x50  barrels.7 
On  June  27,  1725,  a  list  of  legal  prices  for  the  different 
domestic  products  to  be  found  in  the  markets  was  published. 
Like  many  similar  laws  during  the  French  regime  it  was 
not  well  enforced.  The  next  year  the  great  abundance  of 
vegetables  of  all  kinds  forced  the  farmers  to  take  what 
they  could  get  for  them.8  In  1728  the  legal  weight  of  a 

1  A.,  B.  de  VA.,  vol.  4497,  fol.  55- 

3  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  249. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  231. 

4  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  Gl,  vol.  464. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  vi,  fol.  330. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  f  ols.  23-24. 
1  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G\  vol.  464. 
•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O»,  vol.  ix,  fol.  246. 


272  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2?2 

barrel  of  French  beans  was  fixed  at  360  pounds  and  for  the 
smaller  weights  the  same  as  those  for  flour,1  while  for 
domestic  beans  150  pounds  were  to  be  considered  a  barrel. 
The  price  of  "Apalaches  "  beans  at  this  time  was  ten  livres 
a  barrel.2 

Nothing  more  is  to  be  learned  of  the  market-gardening 
trade  of  Louisiana  until  1744,  when  it  is  asserted  that  both 
Mobile  and  New  Orleans  had  markets  containing  quanti- 
ties of  fruit,  almonds,  oranges  and  lemons,  also  many  kinds 
of  vegetables,  such  as  pumpkins,  water  melons,  melons  of 
other  sorts,  cabbages,  herbs,  beans,  peas,  rice  and  potatoes. 
On  ordinary  market  days  and  on  fete  days  a  great  many 
German  farmers  came  to  the  capital  bringing  with  them 
fine  apples,  peaches,  pears,  figs,  sweet  potatoes,  melons  of 
all  kinds,  artichokes,  large  cabbages,  salad  plants,  herbs,  all 
of  which  were  finer  than  those  grown  in  France.3  For  the 
most  part  the  prices  received  are  not  given.  For  a  salad 
plant  they  often  got  as  much  as  thirty  sols; 4  for  a  quintal 
of  red  beans  twelve  to  thirteen  livres.5  At  this  time  all, 
especially  fine,  domestic  products  were  labeled  in  the  shops 
with  the  word  "  creole  ".6  In  1754  the  output  of  pitch, 
tar  and  vegetables  amounted  to  30,000  livres  annually. 
There  seems  to  be  no  way  of  ascertaining  how  much  of  the 
sum  was  gotten  from  the  sale  of  vegetables  alone.7 

The  liquor  business  of  Louisiana,  as  is  the  case  in  most 

1  Supra,  p.  265. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F*,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728;  Le  Page 
du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  387. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  CiS,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  254-255;  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  167-168. 

4  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  p.  14. 

5  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  387. 

6  German-American  Annals,  vol.  vii,  p.  186. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  265. 


273]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          273 

frontier  communities,  had  many  representatives,  most  of 
whom  were  doing  well.  As  early  as  1706  there  was  a  liquor 
shop  in  the  province,  said  to  have  been  owned  by  Bienville 
but  administered  under  the  name  of  another  person.  At 
this  place  wine  was  sold  at  200  piastres  a  cask,  the  price 
remaining  constant  until  I7I2.1  Governor  Cadillac  assured 
the  crown  such  profits  would  not  be  made  under  the  new 
regime.2  Before  the  end  of  1713  the  Crozat  agents  them- 
selves, however,  were  selling  wine  in  the  province  at  320 
livres  a  cask;  in  small  quantities  four  reaux  for  red,  and 
three  for  white  wine ;  brandy  four  livres,  and  vinegar  four 
reaux  a  pot.3  The  next  year  the  retail  price  for  brandy,  red 
and  white  wine  was  three  livres,  thirty  sols  and  twenty  sols 
a  pot,  respectively.4 

On  May  24,  1717,  because  of  the  disorder  in  the  province 
caused  by  the  selling  of  brandy  to  the  Indians  and  slaves, 
an  ordinance  was  issued  making  it  an  offense  punishable  by 
a  fine  of  fifty  livres  to  make  such  sales ;  half  of  the  money 
thus  derived  to  go  to  the  church,  the  remainder  to  the  hos- 
pital.5 In  1719  the  Company  made  the  rates  just  quoted 
the  legal  prices  for  the  province.8  The  act,  however,  did 
little  to  bring  stability  to  the  trade  in  such  commodities. 
The  Company,  itself,  made  a  change  in  1721,  when  it  made 
the  selling  price  of  wine  and  brandy  at  Mobile  120  livres 
a  cask.7  At  New  Orleans,  the  next  year,  brandy  was  re- 
tailed at  fifty  sols  a  pot  and  in  1724  at  one  piastre,  and 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  500-501. 
z  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  May  13,  1713. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  Hi,  fols.  216-223;  vol.  v,  fols.  332,  336. 
4  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fol.  421. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  May  24,  1717. 
6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fols.  332,  336. 

T  Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  fols.  88,  oo. 


274  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [274 

wine  at  the  same  price.1  By  the  end  of  1726  wine  was 
down  to  twenty  sols  a  pot  and  brandy  to  three  livres,  five 
sols.2  On  October  5th,  the  superior  council  enacted  the 
first  of  a  series  of  laws  aimed  at  the  regulation  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  This  act  provided  for  the  closing  of  all  dram-shops 
on  Sunday  while  church  was  in  progress.3  On  March  29, 
1727,  another  was  passed  making  the  selling  of  intoxicants 
to  slaves  illegal.  Moreover  they  were  not  to  be  given  it  to 
carry  to  their  masters  unless  they  presented  to  the  inn- 
keeper a  written  order  from  their  masters  so  to  do.  The 
law  was  not  well  enforced.4  The  council  on  May  7,  1728, 
fixed  the  legal  measures  as  follows:  no  pots  for  a  hogs- 
head of  red  wine,  "  guildive  "  and  vinegar;  100  pots  of 
white  wine  for  a  hogshead;  150  pots  for  a  hogshead  of 
brandy;  and  fifty  pots  for  a  "quart"  of  brandy,  and  red 
and  white  wine;  twenty-three  pots  for  an  "  ancre "  of 
brandy.5 

The  transfer  of  the  province  to  the  crown  had  no  bene- 
ficial effects  upon  the  liquor  traffic.  In  May,  1732,  wine 
sold  in  New  Orleans  at  120  livres  a  cask,  and  by  July  had 
advanced  to  150  and  even  200  livres.  At  the  same  time  it 
was  retailed  at  thirty  sols  a  pot  and  brandy  at  from  forty 
to  fifty  sols.6  At  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  wine 
sold  at  ten  livres,  brandy  at  twenty-seven  livres  and  "  guil- 
dive "  at  four  and  five  livres  a  pot.  These  excellent  prices 
brought  about  a  considerable  increase  in  the  number  of 
dram-shops  and  taverns  in  New  Orleans,  where  the  con- 
sumption of  liquor  of  all  kinds  was  large.  On  December 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  viii,  pp.  90-91,,  290-291,  336-337. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fol.  253. 

» Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  5,  1726. 
4  Ibid.,  March  29,  1727. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  Fs,  vol.  ccxli,  May  7,  1728. 
« Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  115,  173. 


275]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA 

19,  1733,  the  "  ordonnateur"  put  forth  an  ordinance  aim- 
ing at  the  suppression  of  the  disorder  arising  from  drunk- 
enness, by  making  it  illegal  for  any  one,  under  penalty  of  a 
fine  of  fifty  livres  and  confiscation  of  the  liquor  in  his  pos- 
session, to  sell  either  wine,  brandy  or  other  liquors  by  the 
pint,  pot  or  cup  without  first  having  secured  from  his  office 
a  license  permitting  such  sales.  The  ordinance  was  to  go 
into  effect  three  days  after  its  publication.1  Moreover,  the 
governor  and  "  ordonnateur  "  were  both  of  the  opinion  that 
the  prices  for  liquors  should  be  reduced  one-half,  thereby 
bringing  them  about  to  the  same  as  they  were  at  the  time 
of  the  retrocession.  Whether  the  decrease  was  made  offi- 
cially is  not  evident.  At  any  rate  wine,  in  1734,  sold  at 
1 20  and  200  livres  a  cask  and  brandy  at  thirty-five,  forty 
and  fifty  sols  a  pot.  By  October  good  white  wine  at  the 
capital  had  advanced  to  320  livres  a  cask,  red  to  480  livres 
and  brandy  at  the  same  time  had  dropped  to  thirty  sols.2 
In  December  a  further  shifting  of  prices  took  place.  Wine 
now  sold  at  1 50  and  200  livres  a  cask  and  brandy  at  thirty, 
thirty-five  and  forty  livres  an  "  ancre "  (sixteen  pots).8 
This  year  the  "  ordonnateur  "  took  another  step  toward 
placing  the  liquor  business  under  some  restraint.  His  or- 
dinance made  it  an  offense  for  any  one  to  sell  liquor  to  the 
Indians.  The  law  was  so  poorly  enforced  that  it  was  prac- 
tically of  no  value.4  In  1735  wine  at  New  Orleans  brought 
600  livres  a  cask  and  brandy  thirty-five  livres  a  pot.5  The 
"  ordonnateur  ",  December  7,  1736,  made  a  further  attempt 
to  prevent  liquor  from  being  sold  to  the  slaves.  To  this 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Dec.  19,  1733. 

2  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  95-07;  vol.  xix,  fols.  104-105,  151. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  106-107. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  14,  1734. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  106-107. 


276  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2;6 

end  he  issued  an  ordinance  making  it  illegal  to  sell  it  to 
them  without  direct  permission  from  their  masters.1  Again 
the  lack  of  its  enforcement  defeated  the  purpose  of  the  law. 

Wine,  in  1740,  was  selling  at  200  2  livres,  but  the  next 
year  the  price  advanced  to  500  if  paid  in  Spanish  silver, 
and  800  livres  if  in  colonial  paper.3  In  September  it  was 
down  to  350  and  400  livres  a  cask.  Notwithstanding  the 
law  of  1733,*  prices  so  attractive  caused  much  secret  sell- 
ing by  unlicensed  shops.  In  such  places,  in  1744,  whiskey 
was  sold  at  a  pistole,  brandy  at  three  livres,  ten  sols,  and 
rum  and  wine  at  fifty  sols  a  bottle.  Public  disorder  in  New 
Orleans  increased  in  direct  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
liquor  used.5 

Governor  Vaudreuil  and  the  "  ordonnateur  ",  August  19, 
1746,  made  another  attempt  to  do  away  with  some  of  the 
drunkenness  at  the  capital  by  suppressing  all  unlicensed 
drinking  places.  In  the  hope  of  accomplishing  this  work 
they  demanded  all  keepers  of  dram-shops  to  have  from  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  a  permit  to  sell  liquor.6  The  police  of  the 
village,  however,  found  great  difficulty  in  enforcing  the 
law.  In  1751  only  six  shops  in  New  Orleans  were  licensed 
by  the  government.  These  proprietors  were  permitted  to 
sell  drinks  only  in  moderation  to  "  voyageurs  ",  sick  per- 
sons, settlers  and  sailors.  They  were  forbidden  absolutely 
to  sell  it  to  the  soldiers  and  negroes.  For  the  privilege  they 
were  each  to  pay  200  livres  yearly  to  the  government  and 
an  additional  100  livres  to  be  used  in  taking  care  of  the 

1A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Dec.  7,  1736. 

2  Ibid,,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxv,  foL  264. 

s  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  165-166,  185. 

4  Supra,  pp.  274-275. 

6  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  p.  14. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  19,  1746. 


277]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          277 

poor  of  the  village.  These  drinking  places  were  to  close 
daily  at  nine  in  the  evening,  after  which  hour  no  one  was  to 
be  allowed  to  enter.  Moreover,  on  penalty  of  a  fine  and 
annulment  of  the  license  for  any  violation  of  this  part  of  the 
law,  they  were  to  close  the  shops  on  fete  days  and  on  Sun- 
days during  divine  services.1 

The  soldiers  were  to  receive  liquor  at  two  canteens,,  pro- 
vided especially  for  them  by  the  officials.  At  these  places 
no  civilians  were  to  be  allowed  to  buy.  Violations  were  to 
be  punished  by  a  fine  of  ten  ecus  and  confiscation  of  all 
liquor  and  a  stay  in  the  pillory,  the  length  of  time  being 
fixed  by  the  officials;  the  second  by  a  life  sentence  to  the 
galleys.2  Had  the  law  been  rigorously  enforced  it  seems 
that  the  punishment  was  severe  enough  to  do  away  with  the 
illicit  trade  entirely.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case.  At 
this  time  some  farmers  of  the  province  left  their  farms  in 
order  to  engage  in  an  illicit  business  in  and  about  New 
Orleans.  Here  they  dispensed  liquor  secretly,  selling  it 
even  to  slaves.  The  officials  called  upon  the  better  class  of 
settlers  to  help  them  in  the  suppression  of  the  evil.  The 
offenders  were  given  eight  days,  counting  from  the  date 
of  the  publication  of  the  ordinance,  in  which  to  return  to 
their  farms,  after  which  time  if  they  were  still  in  New 
Orleans  they  were  to  be  treated  as  vagabonds  and  driven 
from  the  village.8 

In  1752  the  quantity  of  "  guildive  "  that  was  disposed  of 
at  the  canteens  had  become  so  excessive  that  it  was  ruining 
many  of  the  soldiers  by  making  them  dangerous  maniacs.4 
Wine  at  this  time  was  selling  at  400  livres  a  cask.5  During 

1A.N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  41-43. 

1  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  228,  267. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  334. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [378 

the  war  it  seems  to  have  advanced  in  price  gradually  until 
in  1762  it  was  3,500  livres  a  cask.1 

As  early  as  1722  both  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  had 
large  wooden  shops  that  would  not  "  ornament  a  village  of 
France  ".2  In  1726  Governor  Perier  established  in  the 
former  a  general  merchandise  store  and  placed  d'Anville  in 
charge.  The  latter's  commission  was  fixed  at  six  deniers 
a  livre  on  all  sales.  He  was  to  keep  in  this  shop  all  sorts 
of  goods,  excepting,  however,  flour,  wine,  brandy,  coffee, 
shirts,  shoes,  soap,  limbourg  and  other  articles  that  usually 
were  scarce.  The  project  had  the  approval  of  the  people 
who  believed  it  would  be  a  decided  advantage  to  the  com- 
munity.3 By  1729  the  capital  had  shops  not  under  gov- 
ernment control,  in  which  was  carried  merchandise  similar 
to  that  just  mentioned.  The  proprietors  of  these  stores 
proposed  to  the  director  of  the  Company  to  give  them  an- 
nually a  larger  supply  of  merchandise  and  to  agree  to  allow 
them  to  return  the  part  they  could  not  dispose  of.  They 
further  requested  the  Company  to  advance  them  at  once 
merchandise  to  the  amount  of  20,000  livres.  The  proposi- 
tion was  accepted  because,  it  was  declared,  it  involved  small 
risk  and  the  possibility  of  bringing  to  the  Company  very 
large  profits.4  Little  is  to  be  learned  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  private  shops  carried  on  business,  except  that 
they  charged  excessive  prices  for  everything.  The  next 
year  they  were  pronounced  by  the  "  ordonnateur  "  as  detri- 
mental to  the  province  because  of  the  high  rate  they  de- 
manded for  their  goods.5 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

*  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage  to  North  America,  vol.  ii,  p.  207. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  ix,  fol.  252. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fol.  361. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fol.  40. 


279]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          279 

On  April  25,  1719,  the  Company  fixed  the  price  of  pow- 
der at  fifteen  sols  a  horn,  copper  candlesticks  at  four  livres 
a  pound  and  bullets  at  eight  sols  a  pound.1  At  quite  an 
early  date  there  were  some  shoemakers  in  the  province  who 
made  "galoshes  ",  but  nothing  is  given  as  to  the  price  they 
brought  when  sold.2  In  1723  imported  shoes  cost  in  New 
Orleans  forty  livres,3  in  1733,  thirty  and  thirty-five,4  and 
1762,  forty-five  livres  a  pair.5  Gold  trimmings  and  velvet, 
by  1727,  were  commonly  used  at  the  capital  where,  it 
was  asserted,  they  cost  three  times  as  much  as  at 
Rouen.8  All  kinds  of  wearing  apparel  were  always  ex- 
pensive in  Louisiana.7  In  1762  they  sold  at  New  Orleans 
as  follows :  an  ell  of  cloth  for  a  man's  coat,  250  livres;  with 
a  lining  of  silk,  150  livres  additional;  a  beaver  hat  400 
livres,  with  a  band  of  gold  250  livres  extra;  a  hat  half 
beaver,  250  livres;  a  pair  of  silk  stockings,  150  livres;  a 
purse,  twenty-five  livres;  an  ell  of  cloth  for  a  shirt,  sixty 
livres;  the  same  amount  of  batiste,  120  livres;  and  of 
muslin,  200  livres;  powder  for  the  face  and  hair,  fifteen 
livres  a  pound.8  Imported  soap,  in  1762,  sold  at  twenty- 
five  livres  a  pound,  while  at  the  same  time  the  domestic 
article  brought  from  two  to  six  livres  a  brick.9 

Lower  Louisiana  received  salt  from  France  and  also 
from  the  Illinois  country.  It  was  sold  at  the  private  shops 
and  by  the  government  officials;  for  example,  Crozat's 

1  Ordonnance  de  la  Compagnie  d'Occident,  1719,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

*  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G1,  vol.  464. 

J  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vii,  fol.  16. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  166-177. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 

6  Gravier,  p.  30. 

T  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  229,  269-270. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  121. 

»  Ibid. 


2g0  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [2go 

agents  demanded  two  sols  a  pound  for  it  from  civilians 
and  eighteen  deniers  from  the  soldiers.1  There  was  often 
a  shortage  in  the  supply  for  this  part  of  the  province,  due 
to  some  extent  to  the  fact  that  much  of  it  deliquesced 
before  it  could  be  consumed  because  of  the  excessive 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  air.  In  1719  the  Cadodaquian 
Indians  provided  the  French  with  200  pounds.2  The  com- 
modity, in  1723,  sold  at  New  Orleans  at  sixty  sols  a 
pound.3  When  the  superior  council  in  1728  standardized 
the  weights  and  measures  of  the  province,  it  fixed  that  of 
salt  at  500  pounds  to  the  hogshead.4  In  1731  the  settlers 
on  the  Gulf  coast  were  entirely  without  salt;5  in  1759  a 
cargo  of  250  hogsheads  arrived  at  the  capital  where  it 
brought  twenty  deniers  a  pound.6  Rochemore,  seeing  in 
this  transaction  a  chance  for  big  profits  for  himself,  de- 
manded the  whole  amount  of  the  supply  for  the  govern- 
ment. Later,  however,  all  but  fifty  hogsheads  of  it  was 
retailed  at  six  sols,  three  deniers  a  pound  to  the  civilian 
population.7  Of  the  trade  in  other  groceries  very  little  is 
said.  In  1728  the  weight  for  sugar  was  made  500  pounds 
to  a  hogshead,  200  to  a  "  quart ",  and  for  molasses  at  no 
pots  to  a  case.8  In  1762  sugar  was  selling  for  five  livres. 
and  coffee  at  seven  livres,  ten  sols  a  pound.9 

A  banquet  given  in  honor  of  Governor  Kerlerec  on  his 
arrival  in  1752  affords  some  idea  of  what  the  shops  and 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fol.  33. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fol.  248;  vol.  xxv,  fol.  4;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  272. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vii,  fol.  20. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  ,S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xiii,  fol.  145. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  101-105. 

7  Ibid. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  May  7,  1728. 
» Ibid.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xliii,  fol.  122. 


28l]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          28l 

markets  of  the  capital  had  to  sell.  The  governor  asserts 
there  were  200  persons  present,  of  whom  half  were  most 
richly  dressed  women.  The  hall  and  tables  were  elaborately 
decorated;  and  from  the  latter  he  partook  of  delicious 
meats,  vegetables  and  fruits.  The  whole  affair,  it  was 
claimed,  would  have  done  honor  to  such  an  entertainment 
in  the  wealthiest  cities  of  Europe.1 

The  drug  supply  for  the  province  came  from  France  and 
at  first  was  given  out  from  the  government  storehouse.  In 
July,  1732,  the  "  ordonnateur  "  made  a  bargain  with  the 
apothecary  at  the  hospital  in  New  Orleans  to  supply  medi- 
cine to  the  sick  at  two  sols,  six  deniers  a  person.  The  hos- 
pital physician  was  authorized  to  send  to  the  home  govern- 
ment a  report  of  the  drugs  given  out,  with  the  price  ac- 
cording to  the  list  it  had  furnished.2  Up  to  1734  the 
amount  thus  furnished  cost  the  crown  annually  2,400 
livres.3  In  1738  drugs  were  very  scarce  at  New  Orleans 
and  therefore  expensive,  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  in 
some  instances  the  supply  asked  for  had  been  re- 
duced more  than  half;  for  example,  quinine  was  cut  from 
sixty-five  to  thirty  pounds,  while  from  the  same  list  sal 
ammoniac,  antimony  and  diaphragmatic  was  omitted  en- 
tirely. Quinine,  rhubarb  and  spirits  of  wine  sold  at  nine 
livres,  ten  sols  a  pound,  fifty  livres  a  pound,  and  three  livres 
a  pint,  respectively.  These  prices  were  declared  to  be  a 
third  higher  than  they  should  be.  Sarsaparilla  was  thir- 
teen to  fifteen  sols  a  pound.*  Governor  Vaudreuil,  during 
his  term  of  office,  had  a  third  interest  in  all  the  trade  that 
was  carried  on  between  New  Orleans  and  other  posts  of 

1  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  46. 

2  A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  164-165. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  25-29. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  119-120;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  p.  391- 


282  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [282 

the  province.  At  the  capital  he  converted  one  room  of  his 
dwelling  into  a  store  where  every  sort  of  drug^was  sold. 
The  house  steward  usually  attended  to  the  trade  but  in  his 
absence  Madame  Vaudreuil,  herself,  did  the  selling.  She, 
it  was  declared,  was  a  very  clever  business  woman,  being 
able  to  force  other  merchants  to  buy  goods  from  her  hus- 
band at  prices  fixed  by  herself.  The  governor  made  no 
objection  to  the  trade  since  it  brought  handsome  profits 
into  his  coffers.1 

Trade  in  live  stock  in  lower  Louisiana  was  sporadic. 
Horses  were  bought  either  from  the  Spaniards  or  from  the 
Indians  and  were  paid  for  in  merchandise.2  In  1733  the 
crown  gave  800  livres  for  fourteen  horses  that  belonged  to 
the  Company.3  Fine  geldings  sold  at  New  Orleans  in  1737 
for  thirty  livres  each,  250  being  brought  hither  from  Nat- 
chitoches.4  Horses  owned  by  the  Jesuits  sold  in  1763  at 
from  ninety  livres  for  a  single  animal  to  455  for  a  mare 
and  gray  colt.5 

The  cattle  that  Iberville  brought  with  him  to  the  Gulf 
coast  in  1699  cost  him  in  the  French  islands  eighty  livres  a 

1  Gayarre,  Histoire  de  la  Louisiane,  vol.  ii,  p.  54. 

2  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  280. 

»  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fol.  100. 
4  Dumont,  vol.  i,  p.  81. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 
Value  of  horses  in  livres  : 


Old  Drove  of  10 

9°  (bay)  135  2400 

90  (bay  mare)  205 

loo  (gray)  4go  (wheeler) 

225  (colt) 

435  (gray  mare  and  colt) 

455  (mare  and  gray  colt) 

J395  820  2400 

Totals,  21  head  brought  4^615  livres. 


283] 


DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA 


283 


head.1  Such  animals,  in  1713,  sold  at  Mobile  at  thirty  and 
forty  piastres  each.2  By  1725  the  price  of  cattle  had  ad- 
vanced to  500  and  600  livres  a  head.3  A  pair  of  oxen 
with  their  harness  sold  in  lower  Louisiana  in  1749  at  300 
livres,  while  at  the  same  time  cows  brought  only  sixty 
livres  each.4  No  further  sales  seem  to  have  been  recorded 
until  1763,  when  the  Jesuits'  herd  was  sold  at  public  auc- 
tion.5 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  185-195. 
J  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fol.  19. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  196-200. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 
Value  of  cattle  in  livres  are  as  follows : 

Cow  and    Heifers    Cows    Young    Oxen  in     Heifer  and     Pair  oxen     Pair  oxen 


calf 


bulls        pairs 


bull 


240 

70 

80 

IOO 

730 

205 

245 

"5 

80 

"5 

800 

275 

250 

MS 

130 

1  20 

900 

280 

250 

150 

1  80 

130 

900 

255 

170 

230 

'35 

960 

260 

i75 

240 

135 

980 

265 

1  80 

250 

150 

265 

195 

250 

230 

280 

200 

250 

270 

3«5 

2IO 

280 

315 

250 

285 

Big  bull 

35° 

200 

290 

200 

35° 

305 

355 

305 

355 

340 

365 

375 

375 

375 

375 

375 

IB 

39° 

yoked  to      yoked  to 
cart  plow 

53°  570 

885 

93° 

Pair  oxen  and 

two  carts 

900 


8105   3070   2545   1585  5270     760     3245     570 

Bunch  of  27  oxen,  1200  livres;  51  cows,  12500  livres;  24  calves,  2400  livres. 
Totals:  217  head  of  cattle  brought  52,050  livres. 


284  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [284 

Iberville  also  brought  to  Louisiana,  in  1699,  some  hogs 
for  which  he  paid  forty  livres  each.1  In  1713  they  were 
selling  in  the  province  at  twelve  reaux  each,  and  sheep  at 
four  reaux  a  head.2  At  the  Jesuit  sale,  in  1763,  the  former 
sold  as  follows:  barrows,  fifty-six  livres  each;  a  sow  130 
livres;  a  sow  and  barrow,  150  livres.3  Sheep  sold  at  the 
same  sale  in  lots  of  six  at  from  150  to  245  livres  and  a 
flock  of  seventy  for  3,000  livres.4 

Trade  in  lumber  was  considerable.  In  lower  Louisiana, 
in  1716,  there  were  two  saw  mills.  Cedar  boards,  20  ft.  by 
i  ft  by  2  in.,  sold  at  six  livres  each;  those  10  ft.  by  10  in. 
by  i  in.,  at  100  livres  a  hundred  feet;  and  other  varieties 
at  sixty  livres;  oak  boards,  15  to  20  feet  long  by  3  ft. 
by  i  in.,  at  two  sols,  six  deniers  a  foot;  large  pieces  of 
building  lumber  at  three  livres  a  cubic  foot ;  and  that  suited 
to  boat  building  at  two  sols,  six  deniers  a  foot.5  1,010 
feet  of  cypress  building  material  sold  in  1723  at  five  sols 
a  foot;  408  planks  at  twenty  sols  each;  1,150  feet  of  bark 
for  covering -houses  at  thirteen  livres,  thirteen  sols,  eleven 
deniers  a  hundred  feet;  shingles  at  100  sols  a  thousand; 
and  laths,  hand  turned,  at  the  same  price.6  Siding  was 
selling  at  New  Orleans,  in  1726,  at  twenty  livres  a  thous- 
and; planks  at  fifty  livres;  and  oars,  five  sols  each.  The 
Company  considered  these  prices  very  exorbitant.7  The 
next  year  the  manager  of  a  mill  located  on  Bienville's  land 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  185-195. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 

4  Ibid. 

Value  in  livres  of  nine  different  bunches  of  six  each :  150,  160,  200, 
205,  210,  210,  220,  230,  245.    Totals :  124  head  brought  4,830  livres. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  fols.  380-398. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  fols.  178-181. 
'  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fol.  242. 


285]        DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA          285 

contracted  to  saw  2,500  pieces  of  lumber,  10  ft.  by  8  or 
10  in.  by  il/2  in.,  for  a  church  at  fifty  livres  a  hundred.1 
The  producing  of  lumber  went  on  much  the  same  after  as 
before  Louisiana  became  a  royal  province.  In  1736  joists 
were  selling  at  the  capital  at  three  livres  a  foot;  planks  at 
one  sol,  six  deniers.3  By  1739  lumber  for  building  pur- 
poses had  trebled  in  price  since  1731.  What  had  sold  at 
forty  livres  a  hundred  at  the  earlier  date  at  the  latter 
brought  1 20  livres.3  The  higher  prices  did  not  continue, 
however,  for  in  1747  lumber  was  down  to  six  sols  a  foot.4 
Above  New  Orleans,  in  1752,  large  quantities  of  it  were 
sawed  and  floated  down  stream  to  that  market.5  The 
output  for  1754  was  worth  180,000  livres.6  In  a  commu- 
nity where  wood  for  fuel  was  so  plentiful  as  in  Louisiana 
one  would  not  expect  to  find  a  large  trade  in  cord  wood,  yet 
there  was  some  sale  for  it.  In  1757  it  sold  on  the  wharf 
at  New  Orleans  at  fifteen  livres  a  cord.7  In  1763  twenty 
cords  brought  at  a  public  sale  200  livres  and  ten  more,  sev- 
enty-five livres ;  that  is,  ten  livres  and  seven  livres,  ten  sols 
a  cord,  respectively.8 

Very  soon  the  people  of  lower  Louisiana  began  making 
brick,  because,  for  certain  purposes,  due  to  the  dampness 
of  the  climate,  lumber  was  not  serviceable.  Brick  12  by  8 
by  2  sold  at  New  Orleans,  in  1729,  at  thirty  and  thirty-five 
livres  a  thousand  for  the  export  trade  and  to  the  settlers  at 
twenty  livres.  At  the  brick  yards,  pottery,  floor  and  roof 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xi,  fol.  37. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fol.  115. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  178. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  189. 

5  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  35. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  265. 
7  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  80. 

»  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 


286  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [286 

tiles  also  were  made,  the  latter  selling  at  sixty  livres  a  thou- 
sand.1 In  1732  the  price  for  brick  was  fifteen  livres  a 
thousand,  but  the  cost  of  delivery  brought  it  down  to  about 
nine  livres,  ten  sols  for  the  producer.2  20,720  brick  for 
two  chimneys  and  the  foundation  of  a  house  in  New  Or- 
leans cost  the  purchaser,  in  1733,  ten  livres  a  thousand.8 
In  1746  the  price  was  from  seven  livres,  ten  sols  to  ten 
livres  a  thousand.  At  such  prices  large  quantities  were  put 
upon  the  market.4  In  1763  the  Jesuits  sold  at  auction  97,000 
brick.  The  price  ranged  from  twenty-six  livres,  thirteen 
sols,  four  deniers  to  fifty-two  livres,  ten  sols  a  thousand.5 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fols.  362-363. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv,  f ol.  142. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  192-195. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  276. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fols.  315-351. 

Number     Cost  of  lot        Cost  per  1000 

liv.   sols.   den. 

41     13     4 

41  13     4 

42  15     o 

43  6     8 
43      6     8 
45     o     o 

45  16  8 

46  13  4 
46  13  4 
50  o  o 
50  o  o 
50  o  o 
50  16  4 
52  10  o 
50  o  o 
35  o  o 
30  o  o 
26  13  4 

97000        4375 


in  lot. 

in  livres. 

6000 

250 

6000 

250 

6000 

255 

6000 

260 

6000 

260 

6000 

270 

6000 

275 

6000 

280 

6000 

280 

6000 

300 

6000 

300 

6000 

300 

6000 

305 

6000 

315 

4000 

200 

3000 

105 

3000 

90 

3000 

80 

287]       DOMESTIC  TRADE  OF  LOWER  LOUISIANA        287 

Lime  in  this  part  of  the  province  was  scarce.  In  1733  it 
retailed  at  the  capital  at  ten  sols  and  twelve  sols,  eight 
deniers  a  pound.1  For  use  in  building  fortifications,  the 
officials  the  next  year  bought  2,139  barrels,  paying  for 
it  thirty  sols  a  barrel,  two  deniers  a  pound.2  Prices  for 
building  materials,  such  as  nails,  tacks,  hinges  and  shutter 
hooks  were,  in  1733,  ten  sols  a  pound,  one  livre  a  pound, 
five  livres,  ten  sols  a  pair,  and  four  livres  a  pound,  respec- 
tively.3 

The  sparseness  of  settlement  and  the  great  areas  of  idle 
land  in  all  parts  of  the  province  made  the  traffic  in  real 
estate  small.  Nevertheless  there  were  some  such  transfers. 
As  early  as  1717  a  house  at  Natchez  was  valued  at  fifty 
livres,  and  in  1719  at  1,000  livres.4  At  this  same  settle- 
ment, in  1721,  a  large,  well-equipped  plantation  sold  at 
50,000  livres.5  Then,  too,  many  Germans  bought  from 
former  owners  part  or  all  of  the  land  they  owned  above 
New  Orleans.  In  the  instances  where  prices  are  quoted,  the 
land  sold  at  105  livres  and  sixty-two  livres,  ten  sols  an 
arpent.6  There  were  still  other  such  exchanges.  The 
Jesuits,  in  1726,  for  example,  purchased  from  Bienville 
land  adjoining  their  property  and  in  1751  the  Ursuline 
order  bought  a  plot  of  ground  that  lay  next  to  its  estab- 
lishment. The  amount  given  in  these  exchanges  is  not 
stated.7 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  192-195. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  89-90. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  192-195. 

4  A.,  B.  de  I' Arsenal,  vol.  4497,  fol.  55. 
8  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G\  vol.  464. 

•  Ibid. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  5-6. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY 

THE  French  colony  on  the  Gulf  coast  had  scarcely  been 
planted  when  "voyageurs"  from  the  Illinois  country  arrived 
with  their  boats  loaded  with  peltry.1  At  first  the  trade 
consisted  only  of  skins.  The  traffic  soon  was  extended  to 
other  things  and  in  a  short  time  all  sorts  of  products  were 
being  carried  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  coast  market. 
The  Jesuits  at  an  early  date  introduced  the  growing  of 
wheat  into  the  Illinois  country.  By  1721  that  part  of  the 
province  was  producing  a  fine  grade  of  it,  which  commo- 
dity had  put  the  French  in  that  region  "  pretty  much  at 
their  ease  ".2  As  yet,  however,  there  was  not  enough  home- 
grown wheat  to  furnish  Louisiana  with  all  that  was  needed.3 

Convoys  of  boats  in  1721  went  from  the  Illinois  coun- 
try to  New  Orleans  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  products. 
The  wheat  of  the  cargo,  it  was  asserted,  was  of  a  very  fine 
quality.  Bienville,  in  fact,  ordered  the  posts  along  the 
Mississippi  to  give  all  possible  protection  to  the  freight 
convoys  from  the  Illinois  and  to  furnish  them  with  need- 
ful supplies.4  Up  to  this  time  the  Company  of  the  Indies 
had  sent  to  the  Illinois  French  merchandise  to  the  amount 
of  25,000  pounds  annually.  While  there  was  some  ten- 
dency on  the  part  of  the  traders,  there,  to  make  the  journey 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  364. 

2  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage  to  North  America,  vol.  ii,  p.  166. 
»  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vi,  fol.  332. 

4  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  3,  pp.  105-106. 

288  [288 


289]         THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  2g9 

to  New  Orleans  themselves  for  the  goods  they  desired,  the 
officials  believed  it  was  not  wise  to  encourage  them  in  the 
practice  since  their  time  could  be  employed  more  profitably 
otherwise.1  In  August,  1725,  however,  two  convoys,  one 
from  the  Illinois  and  the  other  from  Natchitoches  arrived 
at  New  Orleans.  Henceforward  it  became  a  regular  occur- 
rence for  men  at  those  posts  to  send  to  the  capital  their 
annual  shipments  of  products.2  In  1729  the  Illinois  country 
had  a  fine  harvest.  It  began  to  be  asserted  that  as  soon  as 
that  part  of  Louisiana  had  become  well  established  and 
free  from  Indian  turmoil,  it  would  be  able  to  furnish  flour 
and  salt  meat  sufficient  in  quantity  to  supply  the  whole 
colony.  This  belief  was  strengthened  by  the  large  quanti- 
ties of  both  of  these  products  then  being  brought  to  New 
Orleans  from  the  Illinois  country.3 

By  1732  there  was  a  well-established  trade  between  the 
Illinois  country  and  Louisiana  proper.  The  convoy  that 
was  expected  at  the  capital  about  March  did  not  arrive  until 
May,  thereby  causing  a  shortage  of  provisions.  This  year 
it  was  composed  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  boats  on 
which  the  farmers  had  shipped,  at  their  own  risk,  products 
amounting  in  all  to  about  2,000  quintals  of  flour,  120  of 
lard,  200  quintals  of  beef  and  160  of  tallow,  600  or  700 
hams,  and  6,000  pots  of  bear's  oil.  In  order  to  avoid  a 
double  shipment,  when  provisioning  the  posts  between 
the  Illinois  country  and  New  Orleans,  the  "  ordonnateur  " 
directed  the  several  commandants  to  take  from  the  convoy 
as  it  passed  what  flour  and  salt  meat  they  needed  for  the 
year's  subsistence.4 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ix,  fol.  240. 

3  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  3,  p.  no. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xii,  fols.  15-16,  19. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fols.  133-136. 


290  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [290 

In  compliance  with  the  order  just  mentioned  the  com- 
mandant at  Natchez  secured  548  quintals  of  flour,  fifty-five 
of  lard,  200  of  beef  and  255  pots  of  bear's  oil.  The  com- 
mandant at  the  posts  at  the  Arkansas,  the  Tonicas  and  Pointe 
Coupee  secured  enough  food  for  six  or  seven  months,  viz., 
at  the  Arkansas,  sixteen  quintals  of  flour;  at  the  Tonicas 
and  Point  Coupee,  each,  thirty  quintals,  making  a  total 
for  the  four  posts  of  624  quintals.  The  remainder  of  the 
produce  was  sold  at  New  Orleans,  the  officials  buying  125 
quintals  of  flour  for  the  royal  storehouse,  making  in  all 
749  quintals  purchased  by  the  government.  Of  this  amount 
340  quintals  were  of  the  better  grade,  "  mieur  blutee  (sic}", 
and  sold  at  twelve  livres,  ten  sols  a  quintal ;  409  of  a  poorer 
quality  cost  but  eleven  livres.  These  prices  did  not  suit 
the  shippers,  who  the  year  before  had  received  twenty-five 
livres  for  such  flour. 

In  explanation  the  officials  stated  that  the  difference  was 
apparent  rather  than  real  and  was  due  entirely  to  a  change 
in  the  paper  money  of  the  province.  The  remainder  of  the 
shipment  was  sold  to  the  merchants  of  New  Orleans,  where 
flour  from  the  Illinois  never  sold  as  well  as  the  French  com- 
modity, since  even  the  best  grades  of  the  former  flour  would 
produce  only  an  equal  weight  of  bread,  hence  could  not  be 
mixed  advantageously  with  rice  in  making  it.  The  supply 
of  provisions  sent  to  New  Orleans  from  the  Illinois  coun- 
try in  1 732  indeed  was  so  considerable  that  the  officials  in- 
formed the  crown  that,  if  it  were  kept  up  every  year  flour 
shipments  from  France  might  well  be  discontinued.  It  was 
further  asserted  that  it  was  not  wise  to  make  any  reduction 
even,  because  that  part  of  the  province  was  still  disturbed 
by  Indian  wars.1 

Notwithstanding   Indian  hostilities,   the   output   of   the 

1A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  133-136. 


291]         THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY 

products  of  the  Illinois  country  increased  annually.  In 
1733  the  convoy  reached  New  Orleans  on  May  10,  six 
weeks  later  than  usual.  On  the  way  down  the  river  it  left 
6,000  quintals  of  flour  at  the  Arkansas  and  32,120  pounds 
at  Natchez  for  the  respective  garrisons.  The  past  season 
had  been  hard  on  the  Illinois  crops;  half  the  grain  that 
matured  was  swept  away  by  storm  before  it  could  be  har- 
vested. Therefore  after  the  posts  had  received  an  allow- 
ance there  was  not  a  large  supply  left  for  New  Orleans.1 

Lower  Louisiana  secured  quantities  of  foodstuffs  from 
the  Illinois  country  in  1734.  The  "  voyageurs  ",  too,  were 
making  yearly  trips  to  New  Orleans  for  a  supply  of  mer- 
chandise.2 By  July  of  the  following  year  two  convoys  had 
reached  the  capital.  One  of  these  consisted  of  twelve  boats 
and  carried  1,500  quintals  of  flour,  some  peltry  and  200 
hams.3  Prices  in  the  Illinois  country  at  the  time  were  as 
follows:  flour,  two  sols  a  pound;  hams,  four  livres,  each; 
bear's  oil,  forty  sols  a  pot;  frogs,  two  livres  each;  tobacco, 
two  livres  a  pound ;  brandy,  five  livres  a  pot ;  and  salt,  four- 
teen livres  a  minot  (70  pounds).4 

In  1736  the  harvest  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  was  light.5  That  of  1737  brought  forth  an  abund- 
ance of  every  thing,  therefore  the  consignments  the  next 
winter  were  correspondingly  large.  The  first  shipment,  con- 
taining 100,000  pounds  of  flour  alone,  reached  New  Or- 
leans in  April,  1738.  It  was  carried  thither  by  a  convoy, 
part  of  the  boats  composing  it  belonging  to  the  government, 
the  remainder  to  private  persons.  The  second,  comprising 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  fols.  166-168;  vol.  xvii,  fol.  147. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  18-20,  25-29,  69-70. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  238-239 ;  Ser.  B,  Ixiii,  fol.  608. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250-251. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fol.  260;  vol.  xxii,  fol.  121. 


202  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [292 

between  50,000  and  60,000  pounds  of  flour  and  many  other 
commodities  arrived  in  May.  The  men  in  charge  of  the 
convoy  brought  the  news  that  a  third  shipment  was  en  route. 
Its  consignment  of  flour  brought  the  amount  supplied  to 
New  Orleans  that  year  up  to  300,000  pounds.1 

In  1738  the  crops  of  the  Illinois  country  were  poor.  Yet 
before  the  end  of  the  year  1739,  300,000  pounds  of  flour,  of 
which  12,000  pounds  came  from  the  Illinois  and  17,000  from 
the  Wabash,  were  used  in  provisioning  the  troops  engaged 
in  a  war  against  the  Chickasaw.2  Some  "  voyageurs  "  who 
carried  flour  to  New  Orleans  in  1739  received  for  it  twenty- 
two  livres  a  quintal.3  In  1740  lower  Louisiana  received 
from  the  Illinois  country  6,000  quintals  of  flour ;  *  in  the 
following  year  125,000  pounds  more  flour  and  large  quan- 
tities of  peltry.5  In  1742  the  "  ordonnateur "  instructed 
the  government  convoy  to  bring  to  New  Orleans  oak  lum- 
ber from  the  Illinois.  In  June  it  had  not  reached  the  capital 
and  it  is  not  stated  whether  the  order  ever  was  carried  out. 
At  any  rate  no  such  trade  developed.6 

The  harvest  in  1745  in  the  upper  district  of  the  province 
was  not  good.  The  convoys  were  dispatched  as  usual 
but  no  statement  is  made  concerning  the  shipments.7  In 
April,  1746,  a  convoy  of  "  voyageurs  "  arrived  at  New 
Orleans  with  cargoes  of  flour  amounting  to  100,000  pounds 
which  put  the  colony  beyond  immediate  want.8  In  Septem- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  48-51,  77-81. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  3-7,  i2&;Journal  of  the  Chickasaw  War,  etc., 
p.  80. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  128. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxv,  fol.  22 ;  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  3-7. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fol.  97. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  37,  113. 

7  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fol.  89. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  57;  Pownall,  App.,  p.  25. 


293]          THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  293 

her  the  government  convoy  reached  the  capital  with  another 
consignment  of  flour,  and  the  news  that  the  growing  crops 
were  very  promising  when  it  left  the  Illinois.1  Although 
the  prospects  for  large  consignments  of  produce  from  the 
upper  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley  in  the  ensuing  year 
were  flattering,  the  outlook  for  the  whole  province  was  not 
happy.  The  output  of  colonial  flour  as  yet,  was  not  equal 
to  the  amount  consumed  and  the  English  war,  practically, 
had  shut  off  the  annual  supply  from  France.2 

The  convoys  from  the  Illinois  country  carried  to  the  Gulf 
settlements,  in  1748,  800,000  pounds  of  flour  alone.3  Be- 
sides the  flour  the  cargoes  were  made  up  of  corn,  bacon, 
hams  from  the  bear  as  well  as  the  hog,  salt  pork,  buffalo 
meat,  tallow,  hides,  tobacco,  lead,  copper,  small  quantities 
of  buffalo  wool,  venison,  bear's  oil,  tongues,  poultry  and 
peltry,  chiefly,  however,  the  loads  were  made  up  of  pork 
and  flour.4  The  government  convoys  carried  up  the  Miss- 
issippi  consignments  of  brandy,  cloth,  made  clothing  and 
other  European  goods.  They  left  New  Orleans  usually 
some  time  in  August.  In  1748  the  first  convoy  set  out  up 
stream  early  in  July.  Notwithstanding  the  gain  in  time  in 
starting  there  was  a  great  shortage  in  all  kinds  of  food- 
stuffs before  it  returned  with  supplies  from  the  Illinois 
country.5 

During  the  continuance  of  the  war,  to  bring  down  the 
Mississippi  at  flood  time  the  entire  output  of  bear's  oil, 
tallow,  salt  beef,  tongues,  hams,  peltry,  lead  and  other 
produce  of  the  region  required  only  twenty-five  or  thirty 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  71,  110-112,  144. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  72. 

3  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  331. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  63,  113-121,  196-107. 
6  Ibid.,  fols.  24-25 ;  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  168. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [294 

men.  To  return,  including  the  escort  carried  along  to  give 
protection  from  Indian  attacks,  150  to  200  men  were 
needed.1  In  1749  New  Orleans  received  from  the  Illinois 
country  a  large  consignment  of  flour  and  of  peltry.  The 
governor  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  former  commodity 
could  be  augmented  considerably.  To  this  end  it  was  pro- 
posed to  increase  the  number  engaged  in  agriculture  by 
men  drawn  from  the  Gulf  coast  settlements  and  from  New 
France ;  to  improve,  also,  the  methods  of  production  employed 
by  the  farmers  and  millers,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
latter  prepared  the  flour  for  shipment.  Heretofore  it  had 
been  sent  to  New  Orleans  in  skin  or  cloth  bags,  much  of  it 
being  damaged  by  water  en  route.2  No  plans  were  ever 
formulated  by  the  colonial  officials  to  carry  out  systemati- 
cally any  part  of  the  above  proposal.  In  1750  the  last  of 
the  annual  convoys  reached  New  Orleans  in  July.  How 
many  there  were  or  what  were  their  size  and  composition 
is  not  stated.8  The  crops  this  year  were  very  short,  there- 
fore the  consignments  to  New  Orleans  the  next  year  were 
smaller  than  they  had  been  for  some  time.4  Flour  at  the 
time  sold  there  at  eighty  and  one  hundred  livres  a  quintal.5 
By  this  time  the  abuses  in  the  trade  carried  on  between 
New  Orleans  and  the  Illinois  country,  it  was  declared  by 
the  "  ordonnateur  ",  had  become  intolerable.  A  man  who 
had  received  his  appointment  as  a  gratuity  from  the  gov- 
ernor, the  usual  practice,  was  in  command  of  the  govern- 
ment convoy.  In  making  up  the  cargoes  for  the  voyage  his 
own  merchandise  took  first  place,  that  of  private  persons 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  116;  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  168;  Jes. 
Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  pp.  147,  213. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1*   vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  57,  152,  153. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiv,  fcl.  321. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  24,  195. 

*  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fol.  no. 


295]          THE  TRADB  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  295 

second,  and  lastly  that  of  the  crown,  if  there  still  remained 
space  for  it.  Frequently  it  happened  that  the  "  ordonna- 
teur  "  was  obliged  to  add  a  boat  and  more  men  in  order  to 
have  the  royal  freight  carried  along,  the  commander  being 
interested,  naturally,  in  the  merchandise  from  which  he 
would  derive  extra  profits.  The  arrival  of  the  convoy  was 
announced  at  each  post  in  advance  in  order  to  give  time  to 
get  ready  for  a  trade  with  the  captain  when  he  reached  the 
particular  post.  The  government  consignment  was  put  on 
sale,  and  part  of  the  profits  found  their  way  into  the  pockets 
of  the  commander.  In  1748  the  captain  had  been  well  sup- 
plied with  provisions  for  the  entire  trip  before  he  left  New 
Orleans.  At  Pointe  Coupee,  on  the  way  up  the  river,  he 
purchased  further  supplies  amounting  to  1,150  livres;  dur- 
ing the  voyage  he  incurred  a  bill  of  1,200  livres  for  his 
daily  supply  of  game  x  and  an  additional  bill  of  2,000  livres 
for  other  foodstuffs.2 

In  1749  the  convoy  under  the  same  commander  left  New 
Orleans  in  August;  in  January,  1750,  it  had  not  reached  the 
Illinois  country  and  it  was  feared  it  would  not  do  so  before 
the  river  was  blocked  by  ice.  Because  of  the  length  of 
time  taken  to  make  the  voyage  the  "  ordonnateur  "  prophe- 
sied that  the  receipts  would  show  a  great  leakage  in  the 
liquor  he  had  placed  on  board.  His  belief  was  based  on 
the  fact  that  the  previous  year  the  government  liquor  con- 
signment on  delivery  in  the  Illinois  country  was  consider- 
ably less  than  the  amount  shown  in  the  bill  of  lading.  The 
"  ordonnateur "  learned,  from  what  he  considered  good 
authority,  that  the  commander  and  crew  were  drunk  during 
the  entire  journey.  At  each  of  the  posts  en  route  the  com- 
mander drank  and  caroused  indiscriminately  with  soldiers 

1  Supra,  p.  259. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1J,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  291-296. 


2o6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [296 

and  civilians.  It  was  further  asserted  that  there  was  not  a 
day  that  he  did  not  lose  his  reason  from  the  effects  of  the 
"  guildive  "  he  had  consumed.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  voyage  the  government  was  "  pillaged  and 
robbed  ".  Each  year  the  expense  for  the  convoy  had  in- 
creased. Michel,  however,  was  unable  to  find  any  one  better 
with  whom  to  replace  this  commander,  or  to  find  a  way  to 
punish  him  for  his  business  irregularities,  due  to  the  fact 
that  almost  every  one  in  New  Orleans  was  interested  in 
him,  some  member  of  his  crew,  or  in  one  of  the  private 
consignments,  hence  would  not  tolerate  his  prosecution.1 

The  next  year  the  governor  informed  the  crown  that  ever 
since  the  coming  of  Michel  he  had  heard  complaints  about 
irregularities  in  the  shipments  of  supplies  to  the  Illinois 
country.  He  further  asserted  that  he  had  heard  them  at 
no  time  except  from  the  "  ordonnateur  "  himself,  a  state- 
ment that  was  perhaps  true.  Notwithstanding  his  one 
source  of  information,  the  governor  endeavored  to  find 
ways  and  means  to  decrease  the  expense  of  the  convoys. 
For  the  coming  year  he  proposed  to  offer  the  contract  to 
the  general  public  and  to  let  it  to  the  lowest  bidder.  He 
had  small  hope  that  anyone  would  be  found  to  do  the  work 
for  less  than  it  had  been  done.  In  the  first  place  there  were 
very  few  men  in  the  province  in  a  position  to  undertake  the 
risk.  In  the  second  place  such  service  in  Louisiana  had 
always  been  expensive.  The  governor  was  of  the  opinion 
the  price  demanded  was  not  excessive,  since  laborers  were 
scarce  and  wages  high.  Moreover,  it  was  difficult,  at  any 
price,  to  secure  crews  for  the  government  boats  which  were 
large,  requiring  at  least  twenty- four  men  each.  The  efforts 
of  the  governor  resulted  as  he  had  predicted;  apparently, 
therefore,  the  matter  seems  to  have  been  dropped.2 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  291-296. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxv,  fols.  8-12. 


297]          THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  2O7 

In  1752  the  annual  shipment  from  the  Illinois  country  to 
New  Orleans  were  unusually  large.  The  posts  en  route, 
even  including  that  of  Natchitoches,  were  provisioned. 
Notwithstanding  the  amount  given  out  the  convoys  on 
reaching  the  capital  still  had  between  eighteen  and  twenty 
cargoes  of  flour,  pork  and  peltry.1  Moreover,  the  command- 
ant of  the  Illinois,  in  March,  sent  a  consignment  of  lard, 
flour,  corn,  tallow  and  tobacco  to  Ft.  Ouiatanon  and  De- 
troit. The  entire  order  for  the  troops  of  New  France  had 
not  been  rilled,  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  a  shortage  of 
boats  and  men  to  transport  it.  The  past  harvest  had  been 
large  but  the  growing  crop  indicated  that  there  would  be  a 
greater  output  the  coming  year.2 

Up  to  1752  the  English  intrusions  into  the  Mississippi 
valley  had  been  troublesome  enough  to  the  French.  Never- 
theless they  became  more  and  more  unbearable  until  the  rup- 
ture came  in  1 754.  Before  the  latter  date  the  enemy  seemed 
to  be  determined  to  take  possession  of  the  Ohio  valley. 
Therefore,  in  order  to  prevent  it,  the  French  built  Fort 
Du  Quesne  on  the  upper  Ohio  river.  In  1753  it  began  to  be 
provisioned  with  supplies  drawn  from  the  Illinois  country. 
As  the  convoy  was  unable  to  pass  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio, 
it  was  delayed  through  being  forced  to  make  a  portage. 
After  this  experience  it  was  despatched  in  time  to  pass  the 
falls  while  the  water  was  high  enough  to  allow  of  it.  The 
Ohio  convoys  were  made  up  of  from  fifteen  to  sixteen 
boats,  loaded  with  wheat,  biscuit,  corn,  bear's  oil,  lard,  tal- 
low, salt  meat,  tobacco,  bullets  and  some  other  commodi- 
ties.3 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  126;  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  271;  Rec. 
Am.  Cath.  Hist.  Soc.  of  Phila.,  vol.  x,  p.  206. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  309;  vol.  xxxvii,  fol.  188. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  99;  Kerlerec,  Report,  1758,  p.  7<>J  Bossu, 
vol.  i,  p.  179. 


2gS  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [298 

For  three  years  the  harvests  in  the  Illinois  country  had 
been  adequate  to  the  demands  put  upon  them.  In  July, 
1754,  the  last  of  the  annual  convoys  reached  New  Orleans, 
bringing  with  it  the  news  of  a  fine  growing  crop  in  that 
district  of  the  province.1  Therefore  the  next  year  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Gulf  coast  received  from  the  Illinois  coun- 
try the  usual  shipments.  From  the  same  region  other  con- 
signments were  sent  up  the  Ohio  to  the  garrison  stationed 
at  Ft.  Du  Quesne.2  During  the  progress  of  the  war,  due  to 
the  transportation  of  troops  and  munitions,  the  number  of 
official  convoys  plying  between  New  Orleans  and  the  Illi- 
nois country  had  to  be  increased.  Formerly  one  was  sent 
out  annually;  now  there  were  two  regular  ones  and  fre- 
quent special  convoys,  each  being  composed  of  double  the 
number  of  boats.3 

After  1755  it  became  increasingly  difficult  for  the  fron- 
tier posts  to  procure  supplies  from  New  France,  therefore 
the  bulk  of  the  provisions  for  the  troops  in  such  places  was 
drawn  from  the  Illinois  country.  In  response  to  a  call  for 
food,  Captain  Villiers  with  a  company  of  men  left  Fort 
Chartres,  in  1755,  for  Fort  Du  Quesne  with  18,000  pounds 
of  provisions.4  The  next  year  a  similar  consignment  was 
carried  to  that  post.5  Governor  Kerlerec,  in  his  re- 
port of  1758,  states  that  the  Illinois  country,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  hostilities,  sent  annually  a  convoy  of  about  six- 
teen boats  loaded  with  wheat,  biscuit,  corn,  oil,  lard,  tallow, 
tobacco,  salt,  powder  and  bullets  to  the  French  posts  that 
were  surrounded  by  hostile  Indians.6  The  next  year  Cap- 
tain Audry,  with  300  soldiers,  some  militia  and  600  Indians, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C",  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  26. 

2  Ibid.,  fol.  170;  Bossu,  i,  159. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  285. 

4  Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc.,  1907,  No.  11,  p.  222. 

6  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  179.  6  Kerlerec,  Report  of  1758,  p.  70. 


299]         THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  299 

set  out  from  the  Illinois  over  the  Maumee-Wabash  route 
to  reinforce  the  outlying  posts  of  New  France.  For  the 
support  of  themselves  and  the  garrisons  they  carried  along 
200,000  pounds  of  flour  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
other  provisions.1 

The  Illinois  trade,  to  be  sure,  suffered  from  the  war; 
perhaps  even  more  from  the  irregularities  in  the  traffic 
itself  that  it  seems  the  officials  were  powerless  to  elimi- 
nate.2 These  obstacles  were  offset  to  some  extent  by  men 
migrating  from  the  Gulf  region  and  from  New  France  to 
the  Illinois  country  where  they  established  themselves  either 
in  trade  or  agriculture.  In  1755,  for  example,  a  young  mer- 
chant, Gabriel  Carre,  from  Montreal,  began  business  at  Kas-  C&.r*Q 
kaskia,  continuing  there  until  1781  when  he  removed  to  St. 
Louis.3  At  the  end  of  the  French  control  a  trading  com- 
pany, "  Boyton,  Wharton  and  Morgan  ",  had  one  store  at  * 
Kaskaskia  and  another  at  Fort  Chartres,  where  it  carried 
on  trade  in  cattle  and  all  kinds  of  produce.4  Beauvairf,  who,  ,3**tA/ 
in  1763,  bought  the  property  of  the  Jesuits  at  Kaskaskia, 
also,  was  an  energetic  and  capable  business  man.  He  sup- 
plied the  royal  storehouse  at  Fort  Chartres  in  one  year  alone 
with  86,000  pounds  of  flour.  He  also  had  more  flour  and 
other  products  ready  for  the  market.5  Valet,  at  St.  Gene- 
vieve,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  annually  put 
large  quantities  of  produce  upon  the  market,  together  with 
shipments  of  lard  and  salt.  For  some  time  after  St.  Louis 
was  founded  its  entire  supply  of  food  was  drawn  from  St. 
Genevieve.0  On  November  3,  1763,  Captain  Villiers  reached 
Fort  Chartres  from  the  Gulf  with  a  boat  heavily  laden 

1  Coll.  Ill  St.  Hist.  Lib.,  Va.  Ser.,  vol.  i,  p.  165. 

2  Supra,  pp.  259,  294. 

*  Billon,  Annals  of  St.  Louis,  etc.,  p.  452. 

4  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  vol.  iv,  p.  421. 

5  Pittman,  p.  85.  '  Ibid.,  p.  95- 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [300 

with  merchandise  sent  by  the  firm  "  Maxent,  Laclede  and 
Company  ",  of  New  Orleans ;  Pierre  Laclede,  a  member  of 
the  company,  being  in  charge  of  the  goods.  The  next  year 
he  began  operating  a  branch  trading-house  in  St.  Louis.1 
Because  of  the  scarcity  of  records  on  the  subject  no  ac- 
count can  be  given  of  the  business  methods  employed  by 
these  companies. 

The  legal  prices  for  European  goods  in  the  Illinois  coun- 
try were  higher  than  on  the  lower  Mississippi.2  The  law 
evidently  had  little  effect;  for  example,  brandy,  in  1723, 
sold  there  at  5,000  livres  a  "  quart ",  when  paid  for  in  bills 
of  exchange;3  in  1735,  at  five  livres  a  pot.4  Whatever 
the  cost  of  brandy,  much  of  it  was  consumed  by  the  French 
themselves,  and  a  far  larger  quantity  used  in  the  Indian 
traffic.5  Information  about  the  sort  of  European  goods 
and  their  cost  in  the  Illinois  country  is  impossible  to  obtain. 
In  1738,  however,  a  glimpse  of  the  kinds  of  merchandise 
that  changed  hands  in  the  upper  district  of  the  province  and 
the  prices  they  brought  is  available  from  the  record  of  a 
sale  that  took  place  at  Kaskaskia.6 

1  Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Sof.,  No.  8,  p.  ill.  2  Supra,  p.  252. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fol.  15;  supra,  p.  120. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  250-251. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  47-48 ;  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  228. 
'  Kaskaskia  Papers,  1737-1784,  MS.  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Lib. 
The  names  and  prices  of  the  articles  sold  follow : 

Wearing  apparel.                   Liv.  Sol,      Wearing  apparel.  Liv.   Sol. 

Breeches  (sheepskin) 15     . .  Jacket  ( sheepskin) 1 6 

"          7     10    "                "           15       5 

"          7     -.     "                "          (4)each  15     .. 

"         (2  pairs)  (sheep-                          «                «          (3)  each  13    oo 

skin)  each 6     10    "                «          (2)  each  II     15 

Breeches  (2  pairs)  (sheep-                      Coat  (sheepskin) 21      .. 

skin)  each 6     .  .Coat  and  jacket  (sheepskin)  30     . . 

Breeches  (3  pairs)  (cloth)                          «      «        «              «  2i     10 

each 7      ..Soldier's  uniform 18     .. 

II 


THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY 


301 


Records  of  the  trade  in  live  stock  in  the  Illinois  country 
are  also  scant.  The  French  drew  their  supply  of  horses, 
in  part  at  least,  from  the  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Miss- 
issippi who  in  turn  secured  them  from  the  Spaniards  of 
New  Mexico.  In  1719  a  trader  exchanged  three  muskets, 
some  powder,  knives  and  a  few  trinkets  with  the  Osage  In- 
dians on  the  upper  Missouri  for  two  horses  and  a  mule,  all 
bearing  the  mark  of  a  Spanish  branding  iron.  He  also  pro- 
cured fourteen  other  horses,  and  on  his  failure  to  secure  an 
Indian  to  guide  him  back  to  the  Illinois  country  made  his 


Wearing  apparel. 
Hat  

Liv.   , 

c 

Hardware. 

Liv. 
.  .20 

Sol. 

10 
10 

CO 

Skirt  (blue)    

20 

5 
°5 

IO 

10 

Kettles  (7  or  Spots)  

M 

..25 

•  .             22 

Dry-goods. 

Ells  Liv. 

.  .  2              1A^ 

„ 

16 

"             "        (6  pots)  .. 
(4  pots)  .. 

..12 
..IO 

•• 

H 

U 

.  i         16 

f( 

"        (with  cover)  (4  pots) 

.  .IO 

IO 

f( 

wl/1      re 

Cloth  (white)         

•  •1^4     15 

.    2l£      l6 

421 

Axes  with  handles  (two)  .  .  . 

.  .IO 

•  • 

"          dl 

"     (linen)  

Miscellaneous. 
Table  

Liv. 

Sol. 

II       (rnttnn\ 

If               If 

.  .  2            •  . 

"      (two  small  round)... 
Chairs  (8),  (2  rockers)  
Cart  (iron  tires)  
Harness  (2  sets)  
Dishes  (  12  plates)  
"        (2  large,  10  medium), 
small  plates,  a  2  qt.  pot 

..20 
..25 
..40 
..60 
..  8 

2 
..50 

00 

"      (  wool)    

.  .  1           IO 

05 

5 

Cloth  cover  
«        «      (white)  •  .  . 

29 
2O 

16 

16 

5 

IO 
IO 

"         (doz.)  
Yarn  

49 
8 

.   i 

302  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [302 

way  alone  by  the  aid  of  a  compass.  En  route,  however,  he 
lost  six  horses  and  a  colt  in  attempting  to  cross  a  stream, 
a  loss  estimated  at  more  than  900  livres.1  By  1738  the  Illi- 
nois country  had  horses  to  sell;  forty-six,  at  200  livres  a 
head,  being  provided  the  government  for  use  in  the  Chick- 
asaw  war.2  At  the  sale  mentioned  above,3  horses  sold  some- 
what cheaper.4  135  yoke  of  oxen  supplied  the  officials 
for  the  Indian  war  in  1738  cost  450  livres  a  pair.5  Other 
exchanges  of  live  stock  at  the  sale  just  referred  to  brought 
quite  good  prices.6 

Records  of  transfers  of  real  estate,  furthermore,  are  as 
rare  as  those  of  personal  property.  In  1738,  however,  a 
house  and  grounds,  including  a  garden,  near  Fort  Chartres, 
sold  at  650  livres.  At  the  same  settlement  a  horse-mill  and 
two  arpents  of  land  brought  900  livres.7  In  1755  a  house 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  314-315. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  135. 

3  Supra,  p.  300. 

4  See  note  6  below. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C*3,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  135. 

•  Kaskaskia  Papers,  1737-1784,  MS.  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Lib. 

Price  of  live  stock : 

Kinds                                       Age  livres        sols 

Bull  3  years  75 

Bull  2  years  52 

Bull  I  year  62 

Bull  (one  large,  one  small) 185 

Cow  (black) , 8  years  99 

Cow  (black) 5  years  96             10 

Cow(black) 5  years  86 

Heifer  (red) 2  years  50 

Hogs  ( 10) 5  or  6  months  77 

Horses  (3)  mare  and  colt 400 

Horse    3OO 

Dogs  (bull,  mother  and  4  pups) ie 

1  Kaskaskia  Papers,  1737-1784,  MS.  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Lib. 


303]         THE  TRADE  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COUNTRY  303 

and  its  adjoining  fields  located  near  Kaskaskia  sold  at  6,500 
livres,  3,000  livres  being  paid  at  the  time  of  the  transfer.1 

Building  materials  were  plentiful  in  the  Illinois  country, 
therefore  few  sales  are  recorded  for  lumber  and  stone.  In 
1737,  for  the  construction  of  the  fortifications  at  Fort 
Chartres,  the  crown  paid  from  130  to  135  livres  a  cubic 
"  toise  "  for  the  masonry,  185  livres  for  the  brick  and  ten 
sols  a  foot  for  the  carpenter  work,  which  prices  the  officials 
considered  too  high.2 

Up  to  1724,  the  lead  mines  of  the  Illinois  country  had 
supplied  only  local  needs.  That  year  20,000  pounds,  at 
fifty-five  livres  a  quintal,  payable  in  paper  currency,  were 
sold  to  the  government  for  the  use  of  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Chartres.3  In  1744,  30,000  pounds  of  lead  from  the  Illi- 
nois mines  was  sent  to  New  Orleans.4  After  1750  enough 
lead  was  procured  from  these  mines  to  supply  both  the 
French  and  Indians  there,  also  to  send  annual  shipments  to 
the  frontier  posts  of  New  France.  The  output  was  in- 
capable of  further  expansion  at  this  time,  because  there 
were  in  the  colony  no  men  with  capital  willing  to  invest  in 
such  an  enterprise.5 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  51-54. 
8  MS.  1755,  Courthouse,  Belleville,  111. 
8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  viii,  fol.  103. 
4  Ibid.,  Ser.  P,  vol.  Ixxviii,  fol.  16. 
*  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  pp.  221-223. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 
VALLEY 

EVER  since  the  establishment  in  New  France  of  "  The 
Company  of  the  Hundred  Associates  ",  in  1626,  the  traders 
sent  out  under  its  direction  pushed  westward  into  new  and 
unknown  lands.  On  July  4,  1634,  Jean  Nicolet  left  Three 
Rivers  to  go  among  the  Indians  on  the  upper  Great  Lakes 
and  before  returning  went  on  as  far  as  the  present  state  of 
Wisconsin.1 

The  coming  in  1654  of  a  convoy  of  fur-laden  canoes 
from  a  point  400  leagues  to  the  westward  stimulated  inter- 
est in  the  trade,  and  in  September  of  that  year,  Father  Mer- 
cier  wrote  that,  if  thirty  Frenchmen  could  be  sent  to  the 
upper  Lakes,  "  not  only  would  many  souls  be  won  to  God 
but  also  a  profit  would  be  derived  in  excess  of  the  outlay 
required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Frenchmen  sent  out, 
since  the  best  furs  come  in  greater  abundance  from  those 
regions  ".2  The  French  government  did  not  respond  to 
this  call,  but  in  the  winter  of  1658-1659,  Radisson  and 
Groseilliers,  two  traders  who  desired  "  to  travel  and  see 
countreys  "  and  "  to  be  knowne  with  remotest  people  ",a 
went  westward  as  far  as  Lakes  Michigan  and  Superior,  on 
the  latter  of  which  they  built  a  fort.4 

1  Coll.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  viii,  pp.  188,  191-192 ;  vol.  xi,  pp.  1-24. 

*  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  xli,  pp.  77,  185. 

s  Thwaites,  The  Colonies,  p.  247. 

*  Pub.  Prince  Soc.,  vol.  xvi,  p.  31 ;  Coll.  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  x,  pt. 
2,  PP.  457-553- 

304  [304 


305]  NRW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

In  time  the  traders  became  better  acquainted  with  the 
region  between  Lakes  Michigan  and  Superior.  From 
twelve  to  fifteen  Indian  tribes  made  regular  trips  to  the 
upper  waters  of  the  former  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
food  and  of  engaging  in  trade  with  one  another.  There 
the  French  established  in  1670  a  post  named  Michilimacki- 
nac  that  became  the  center  of  the  western  fur  trade.  From 
this  post,  in  1673,  Joliet  and  Marquette  set  out  on  their 
journey  in  search  of  the  Mississippi.1  The  traders,  how- 
ever, had  reached  the  valley  of  that  river  ahead  of  them, 
for  while  on  the  Illinois  Joliet  met  La  Taupine  whom  he 
had  known  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  in  i67i.2 

The  work  delegated  to  the  Company,  and  its  successors 
after  1663,  and  that  assigned  to  the  Church  in  New 
France  sometimes  was  carried  on  by  the  traders  in 
conjunction  with  the  churchmen,  while  in  other  cases 
the  former  pushed  on  a  little  in  advance.  Nor  did 
the  task  of  establishing  commerce  with  the  Indians  and 
the  duty  of  converting  them  to  the  Christian  faith  always 
harmonize,  as  is  shown  in  a  letter  in  1672  to  Colbert  by 
Governor  Frontenac,  stating  that  the  Jesuits  "  think  as 
much  about  the  conversion  of  beaver  as  of  souls;  for  the 
majority  of  their  missions  are  pure  mockery  ".3  Other 
complaints  evidently  reached  the  royal  government.  In 
1676,  Governor  Frontenac  received  the  following  instruc- 
tions :  "  you  must  not  suffer  any  person,  invested  with  Ec- 
clesiastical or  Secular  dignity  or  any  Religious  Community, 
to  follow  it  (the  fur  trade)  in  any  wise,  under  any  pretext 
whatsoever,  or  even  to  trade  in  any  peltries ;  and  I  consider 
it  necessary  to  tell  you  that,  for  the  sake  of  the  example, 

1  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  lix,  p.  91. 

*  Winsor,  Nar.  and  Crit.  Hist,  of  America,  vol.  iv,  p.  179;  Mag.  West. 
Hist.,  vol.  ix,  p.  432. 
8  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  ¥.,  vol.  ix,  p.  93. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [306 

you  ought  not  to  allow  any  of  your  domestics,  or  any  other 
person,  in  your  name  or  by  your  authority,  to  do  so ;  and  I 
even  forbid  you  to  issue  any  license  or  permit  for  the  (In- 
dian) trade."  *  Had  the  crown  been  able  to  enforce  this 
command  it  would  have  protected  the  fur  trade  of  the  Com- 
pany organized  for  the  purpose  from  inroads  by  the  officials 
and  independent  traders  as  well  as  by  the  missionaries. 

At  the  request  of  Governor  La  Barre  the  home  govern- 
ment granted  to  La  Salle,  in  1678,  a  trading  privilege  that 
caused  the  existing  Company  much  uneasiness.  The  patent 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  officials  of  New  France  was  given 
for  a  most  worthy  purpose,  that  of  protecting  the  province 
and  its  fur  trade  from  the  hostile  attacks  of  the  Iroquois. 
The  crown  issuing  the  patent  had  attempted  to  preserve 
the  rights  of  the  Montreal  fur  traders  by  permitting  La 
Salle  to  buy  buffalo  skins  and  peltry  only  from  the  terri- 
tory not  belonging  to  the  Company.2  La  Salle  gave  the 
home  government  assurance  that  any  bad  effects  that  his 
grant  might  have  upon  the  trade  of  those  men  would  be 
more  than  balanced  in  the  first  place  by  the  added  security 
that  it  would  give  to  his  majesty's  American  possessions. 
In  the  second  place  it  would  increase  the  output  of  peltry, 
since  his  post  on  the  upper  Illinois  river  would  intercept 
the  skins  that  the  Iroquois  heretofore  had  carried  to  the 
English  market.3 

After  receiving  this  grant  La  Salle  ill-treated  the  Iro- 
quois, avowing  he  would  convey  arms  and  ammunition  to 
the  Illinois  and  would,  himself,  if  need  be,  die  in  assisting 
those  tribes  in  carrying  on  war  against  them.  The  Iro- 
quois, however,  were  not  intimidated  by  his  threats,  and 

1  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  126. 

1  Margry,  vol.  i,  pp.  337-338. 

*  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  i,  p   42;  Coll.  III.  St.  Hist.  Lib.,  vol.  i,  p.  122. 


307]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  307 

in  1680  they  returned  from  the  Illinois  carrying  with  them 
large  quantities  of  skins.1  These  successes  led  them  to 
plan  larger  campaigns.  In  1683,  they  were  engaged  in  a 
war  against  the  Miami,  Ottawa,  Huron  and  Illinois,  in  the 
hope  of  taking  possession  of  Michilimackinac,  thereby  cut- 
ting off  French  communication  with  the  Indian  tribes  to 
the  South  and  rendering  themselves  masters  of  the  fur 
trade  in  the  west.2 

In  order  to  combat  this  movement,  La  Salle  established  a 
sort  of  confederacy  at  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  upper  Illinois 
river.  Before  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies  were  able 
to  check  them,  the  Iroquois  had  pushed  their  incursions 
almost  to  the  Mississippi.3  The  ferocity  and  extent  of 
such  attacks  no  doubt  were  due  in  part  at  least  to  the  fact 
that  the  English  fur  fields  were  already  practically  ex- 
hausted.4 La  Salle  at  this  time  also  pointed  out  to  the  home 
government  the  necessity  of  protecting  its  American  fur 
trade  from  encroachments  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany.5 The  crown,  however,  did  not  heed  the  warning; 
therefore  very  soon  that  Company  had  perceptibly  de- 
creased the  amount  of  furs  carried  to  Quebec.  The  French 
accordingly  began  to  understand  that  in  their  struggle  for 
control  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  would  have  to  be  reck- 
oned with.6 

The  fight  for  full  possession  of  the  fur  trade  fell  prim- 
arily upon  the  agents  of  the  Company  at  Montreal  and  the 
traders  with  special  permits  from  the  crown.  Tonty  had 
been  left  in  charge  of  the  affairs  at  La  Salle' s  post  on  the 

1  Penn  Arch.,  2nd  Ser.,  vol.  vi,  p.  9. 

2  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  7,  48-49. 

8  Ind.  Hist.  Soc.  Pub.,  vol.  ii,  p.  327. 
4  Coll  of  III.  Hist.  Lib.,  vol.  i,  p.  122. 
6  Ibid.,  p.  121. 
*  Penn.  Arch.,  2nd  Ser.,  vol.  vi,  p.  13. 


30g  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [308 

upper  Illinois  and  here  aided  the  Illinois  Indians  in  defend- 
ing themselves  against  the  attacks  from  the  Iroquois.  In 
1687,  after  paying  his  trading  dues  to  the  government, 
amounting  to  4,000  livres  worth  of  beaver  skins,  he  still 
had  left  in  the  storehouse  between  1,000  and  1,200  livres 
worth  of  peltry.1  Tonty  and  La  Forest  became  the  sole 
proprietors  of  the  trade  at  Fort  St.  Louis ;  but  the  Iroquois 
and  Fox  hostilities  greatly  interrupted  it.2 

Apart  from  the  trouble  caused  by  the  savages  the  con- 
dition of  the  fur  trade  in  the  Illinois  country  was  not 
entirely  satisfactory.  Many  of  the  skins  sent  to  Montreal 
and  Quebec  were  not  properly  cured;  others  were  of  poor 
quality.  The  officials  thought  it  was  wise  to  take  all  the 
peltry  the  Indians  offered.  They  desired  to  improve  the 
situation,  and  to  this  end  requested  Tonty  and  La  Forest 
"  to  excite  the  savages  to  dress  their  skins  well ".  At  the 
same  time  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  conditions  in  the 
Illinois  country  such  that  there  would  be  no  need  to  buy 
skins  in  such  abundance.  It  was  decided  to  limit  the  num- 
ber of  permits  to  traders  to  twenty-five ;  to  pay  the  soldiers 
of  the  garrison  at  Fort  St.  Louis  in  order  to  keep  them  out 
of  the  traffic,  and  to  send  presents  to  the  Indians  for  the 
purpose  of  appeasing  them  for  any  shortage  in  a  market 
for  their  peltry.  Tonty,  however,  was  permitted  to  go  500 
leagues  west  of  Michilimackinac  in  order  to  build  up  trade 
among  the  Indians  of  the  region  in  question.3  Still  other 
Frenchmen  from  the  Illinois  country  were  exploring  the 
territory  on  the  upper  Missouri,  where  they  formed  alli- 
ances with  the  Indians,  the  aim  being  to  build  up  an  advan- 
tageous fur  trade.4 

1  Margry,  vol.  iii,  p.  499. 

1  Early  Voyages  up  and  down  the  Miss.,  p.  49. 

8  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  65-66. 

4  Jes.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixiv,  p.  161 ;  supra,  p.  30. 


309]  N£W  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

By  this  time  the  French  were  feeling  the  pinch  of  compe- 
tition from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  order  to  re- 
lieve the  situation,  Le  Sueur  began  his  voyages  to  the 
upper  Mississippi  valley  among  the  Sioux.  Before  the  end 
of  the  century  he  had  made  a  number  of  such  trips  and 
had  learned  their  language.1  This  accomplishment  greatly 
increased  the  value  of  Le  Sueur's  services  among  the  Sioux. 
In  1690  he  was  sent  among  them  to  restore  peace.  In  five 
years  the  work  was  accomplished  and  a  French  post  estab- 
lished there.  In  accomplishing  the  task  Le  Sueur  received 
considerable  aid  from  the  presents  that  Perrot  carried  to 
Michilimackinac  for  distribution  among  the  Indians  of  the 
northwest.2 

Le  Sueur,  meanwhile,  had  become  interested  in  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  fur  trade  in  this  region.  He  told  the  officials 
that  the  bear,  lynx,  wild  cat,  martin  and  badger  skins  found 
there  were  incomparably  more  beautiful  than  those  else- 
where, and  requested  that  he  be  given  the  exclusive  trade 
with  the  Sioux  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  together 
with  men  and  supplies  for  carrying  on  the  traffic  with  Mon- 
treal. He  further  requested  that  he  be  allowed  to  supply 
those  tribes  with  guns  and  ammunition.  His  proposition 
was  rejected.  Le  Sueur,  nevertheless,  did  not  lose  his  in- 
terest in  the  commerce.  In  order  to  impress  the  officials 
with  the  abundance  and  wealth  of  the  furs  in  the  Sioux 
country,  he  stated  that  these  savages  dressed  themselves 
entirely  in  beaver  skins  which  were  soon  discarded  and  re- 
placed by  fresh  ones,  simply  because  of  the  lack  of  a 
market.3 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  57-65. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  pp.  55-56;  Doc.  Rel  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.t  voL  ix,  p.  478; 
Coll.  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  94-95. 

s  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  60-64. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [3IO 

Le  Sueur's  appeal  failed  to  move  the  officials  of  New 
France  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  such  a  trade.  In 
some  measure  the  rejection  of  the  scheme  was  due  to  the 
opposition  to  it  from  the  friendly  Illinois,  who  looked  with 
disfavor  on  a  strong  alliance  with  the  Sioux,  their  enemies. 
Then  too  the  opinion  and  action  of  the  officials  of  New 
France  at  the  time  were  influenced  by  men  who  hated  Le 
Sueur  because  of  his  success  and  were  doing  what  they 
could  to  thwart  his  plans  and  bring  about  his  political  and 
financial  ruin.  In  part,  as  has  been  shown,  they  succeeded 
in  the  task  assigned  themselves.  Misfortune  completed  the 
work.  In  1698  Le  Sueur  was  captured  by  the  English, 
lost  10,000  livres,  and  finally  made  his  way  to  France.  On 
his  return  to  New  France  he  found  his  enemies  bitterly 
hostile,  he  therefore  soon  decided  to  go  back  to  France. 
He  secured  from  the  crown  a  mining  and  trading  grant 
for  the  Sioux  country,  to  be  operated  from  Iberville's  set- 
tlement on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.1  Although  many  of  Le 
Sueur's  personal  schemes  failed,  the  work  that  he  and 
others  did  among  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  succeeded 
in  reviving  the  fur  trade  of  New  France.  In  August,  1690, 
five  hundred  Indians  from  Michilimackinac  were  at  Mon- 
treal. The  merchants  of  the  village  were  very  happy.  It 
had  been  a  long  time  since  they  had  seen  there  so  large  a 
number  of  these  savages.  In  order  to  induce  them  to  re- 
peat their  visit,  Governor  Frontenac,  August  25,  gave 
them  a  great  feast  consisting  of  "  two  oxen,  six  large  dogs, 
two  barrels  of  wine,  some  prunes  and  tobacco  to  smoke  ".2 

The  frequent  conflict  with  the  Iroquois  finally  led  the 
officials  of  New  France  to  conclude  that  the  only  way  to 
put  an  end  to  the  trouble  was  to  remove  the  cause.  To  this 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  90-92. 

1  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  478-479. 


3n]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  3II 

end,  in  1685,  they  informed  the  home  government  "  the 
English  both  to  the  north  and  south  of  us  as  well  as  the 
Iroquois  be  to  us  as  a  constant  threat,  and  it  is  our  belief 
that  something  should  be  done  to  remove  this  enemy".  They 
informed  the  royal  government,  also,  that  a  great  deal  of 
uncertainty  would  be  cleared  up  if  only  it  could  purchase 
the  region  dependent  upon  Albany.1  This  proposal,  how- 
ever, was  not  the  first  of  its  kind.  In  1666,  a  colonial  offi- 
cial had  suggested  to  the  crown  the  buying  of  the  colony  of 
New  York,  whereby  his  majesty  "  would  have  two  en- 
trances into  Canada,  and  by  which  he  would  give  to  France 
all  the  peltry  of  the  north,  of  which  the  English  share  the 
profits  through  communication  they  have  with  the  Iroquois 
by  Manhattan  and  Orange  ".2  The  argument  was  sound. 
Not  only  would  it  have  given  New  France  a  second  water- 
way to  the  sea  and  considerable  influence  over  the  Iroquois, 
but  it  would  have  closed  one  of  the  easiest  English  routes 
into  the  Mississippi  valley.  Moreover,  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  II  it  is  probable  that  such  a  purchase  could  have 
been  made  had  the  French  government  been  persevering 
enough.  Through  lack  of  alertness  their  competitors,  the 
English,  again  were  left  in  a  position  to  continue  their  for- 
midable rivalry  for  the  possession  of  the  western  trade. 

At  the  beginning  of  1687,  New  York,  in  order  to  aid  the 
Iroquois  in  their  wars  with  the  French,  and  incidentally  to 
increase  its  output  of  fur,  made  them  a  present  of  a  barrel 
of  powder.3  The  next  year,  through  the  artifice  of  the 
French,  as  the  English  claimed,  a  treaty  of  commerce  be- 
tween the  subjects  of  the  two  crowns  was  signed,  giving 
the  French  trader  a  decided  advantage  over  his  English 

1  Winsor,  Car  tier  to  Frontenac,  p.  329. 

2  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  56-57. 
1  Golden,  vol.  i,  p.  73. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

rival.  Moreover,  Governor  Andros  saw  to  it  that  the 
treaty  was  obeyed,  but  the  English  asserted  that  the  French 
did  not.1  Whatever  the  disadvantage  from  this  source, 
the  English  were  able  to  push  forward  to  the  great  discom- 
fort of  the  French.  In  1692,  the  latter  claimed  the  former 
were  among  the  Miami  and  predicted  the  loss  of  the  whole 
of  New  France  if  the  English  became  masters  of  the  Miss- 
issippi fur  trade.  In  fact  English  influence  among  the 
western  Indians  already  had  caused  the  Fox,  who  wished  to 
trade  with  them,  to  become  hostile  to  the  French.  More- 
over, it  had  caused  outbreaks  among  the  Miami.  The 
French,  therefore,  were  obliged,  in  1692,  to  send  out  Nicho- 
las Perrot  for  the  purpose  of  pacifying  the  latter  tribes.2 
Then  too  French  legislation  enacted  for  the  purpose  of 
regulating  the  fur  trade  had  been  decidedly  useful  to  the 
English.  The  restrictions  on  the  quantity  of  skins  bought 
annually  and  on  the  number  of  permits  issued,  together 
with  the  actual  extent  of  the  fur  territory,  had  caused  the 
Company's  agents  to  carry  peltry  to  the  English  market.* 
In  1695,  the  fur  output  of  New  York,  the  only  province  at 
the  time  drawing  furs  from  the  Mississippi  valley, 
amounted  to  about  £10,000  sterling  a  year.4 

The  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  therefore,  pre- 
sented an  interesting  situation  in  the  struggle  for  control 
of  the  western  fur  trade.  The  work  of  the  French  was 
beset  with  difficulties  both  internal  and  external.  The 
English  had  as  allies  the  Iroquois  and  Fox  and  were  mak- 
ing headway  among  some  of  the  other  tribes  of  that  area. 
They  seemed,  however,  to  have  dreaded  the  Jesuits  more 

1  Pub.  of  Prince  Sof.,  vol.  vii,  p.  229. 
*  Parkman  Club  Papers,  1896,  p.  12. 
1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  65. 
4  Halsey,  Old  New  York  Frontier,  p.  8. 


313]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

than  they  did  the  French  traders.  In  1700,  Robert  Liv- 
ingston declared  the  "  Jesuits  at  Canada  are  so  cunning  to 
have  their  share  of  whatever  an  Indian  hunts,  which  is 
brought  and  laid  before  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary  in 
the  Church,  and  this  being  done  they  have  not  only  remis- 
sion of  their  sins,  but  her  prayers  to  the  bargain  for  good 
luck  when  they  go  out  a  hunting  next  time  'V 

To  these  external  problems  of  the  fur  trade  of  New 
France  must  be  added  the  troubles  that  arose  within.  The 
officials  complained  of  the  men  to  whom  special  trading 
permits  had  been  granted  by  the  crown  and  they  in  turn 
complained  that  other  persons  with  similar  privileges  were 
infringing  upon  their  rights.  For  example,  as  early  as 
1682,  La  Salle  asserted  that  Du  Lhut  and  others  working 
among  the  Sioux  were  ruining  the  trade  belonging  to  him.2 
Legislation,  added  to  extortion  on  the  part  of  the  officials 
themselves,  brought  bankruptcy  to  many  of  the  Indian 
traders,  who  thereupon  entered  into  direct  commerce  with 
the  English.  By  the  time  Biloxi  was  founded  they  had  be- 
come independent  and  at  once  opened  up  a  traffic  with  the 
new  French  settlement.8 

Before  Louisiana  was  a  year  old  New  France  asked  the 
home  government  for  protection  against  encroachments 
from  the  colony  on  the  Gulf.4  The  governor  of  the  former 
sent  Tonty  to  Michilimackinac  to  induce  the  agents  of 
Montreal  merchants  to  return.  Tonty  succeeded  with  only 
20  out  of  104.  The  others  to  the  number  of  eighty- four 
made  their  way  to  the  Gulf,  whither  thirty  more  had  gone 
some  time  before  with  ten  canoes  laden  with  beaver  skins 

1  Doc.  Rel  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  iv,  p.  649. 

2  Margry,  vol.  ii,  pp.  253-254.  • 

3  Supra,  p.  288. 

*A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  O8,  vol.  i,  fol.  29. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

belonging  to  the  Montreal  dealers.  The  officials  of  New 
France  at  once  informed  the  home  government  that  it  was 
very  necessary  to  have  this  barefaced  robbery  stopped.  To 
this  end  they  desired  the  crown  to  limit  the  Louisiana  trade 
to  buffalo  skins  or  other  peltry  found  in  that  province 
itself.1 

Instead  of  checking  these  traders,  the  home  government 
sent  out  additional  ones  with  special  permits.  Le  Sueur 
was  among  the  Sioux  in  1700  where  the  officials  of  New 
France  complained  he  was  buying  beaver  skins  contrary  to 
the  terms  of  his  grant.2  The  crown  was  thereupon  in- 
formed that  it  would  be  better  to  allow  a  few  skins  to  go 
to  the  English  than  to  ruin  New  France  entirely  by  putting 
the  whole  trade  in  furs  into  the  hands  of  persons  who 
would  carry  it  to  Louisiana.3  Le  Sueur  bought  3,600 
beaver  skins  in  eight  days  and  sent  them  in  three  canoes 
down  the  Mississippi  to  Biloxi,4  a  fact  that  perhaps  gives 
the  above  statement,  in  some  measure  at  least,  the  appear- 
ance of  being  true. 

The  French  government  not  only  did  nothing  to  restrain 
Le  Sueur's  traffic  but  actually  increased  the  trouble  of  the 
Montreal  merchants  by  issuing  to  Juchereau  a  permit  to 
establish  on  the  lower  Wabash  a  tannery  and  there  allowed 
him  to  buy  buffalo  hides  and  other  peltry,  except  beaver 
skins.  Thereupon  the  officials  of  New  France  began  to 
make  complaints  against  him  similar  to  those  previously 
directed  against  Le  Sueur.  They  claimed  that  the  three 
canoes  of  merchandise  that  Juchereau's  grant  allowed  prac- 
tically gave  him  control  of  the  western  trade.  They  as- 

1  Rep.  and  Coll.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xvi,  pp.  201-202. 

2  Infra,  p.  336. 

*  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  68-69. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  p.  417. 


315]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

serted  further  that  this  traffic  would  make  it  impossible  for 
the  Company  at  Montreal  to  fulfill  the  terms  of  its  con- 
tract with  the  crown,  such  as  paying  in  its  name  the  6,000 
livres  it  had  agreed  to  distribute  among  the  poor  families 
of  the  province  and  its  obligation  to  build  a  post  at  Detroit. 
In  spite  of  a  denial  from  Juchereau,  they  declared  that  it 
was  utterly  impossible  for  a  trader  to  go  among  the  In- 
dians as  he  did  without  being  obliged  to  buy  all  the  peltry 
the  savages  offered.1  The  home  government  took  no  action 
in  the  matter,  therefore  it  continued  to  receive  complaints 
against  Juchereau  until  his  death  in  I/O3.2 

Although  encroachments  came  chiefly  from  the  English 
side  yet  the  French  did  not  abstain  from  retaliation.  In 

1700,  Martin  Chartiere  went  into  Pennsylvania  without  a 
permit  and  opened  up  trade  with  the  Shawnee  and  Dela- 
ware.    He  built  a  post  on  the  Susquehanna,  married  an 
Indian  woman  and  reared  a  family.     He  and  his  sons  be- 
came owners  as  well  as  fur  traders.    They  always  remained 
friendly  to  the  French  and  regarded  themselves  as  French 
subjects.3 

Since  the  abolition  of  the  "  Company  of  the  Hundred 
Associates  ",  in  1664,  a  number  of  different  companies  had 
tried  in  vain  to  build  up  in  New  France  a  profitable  fur 
trade.  At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  "Company  of  Canada",  having  an  exclu- 
sive traffic  in  beaver  skins,  and  being  permitted  to  send  to 
France  150,000  a  year.4  The  traffic  at  the  Detroit  post,  in 

1701,  fell  to  the  Company  of  Canada's  privilege,  for  which 
it  paid  70,000  francs  annually.     The  permit  included  also 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  357-358,  360-365. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  p.  180. 

8  Lancaster  County  Hist.  Soc.  Papers,  vol.  ix,  pp.  305-306. 

*  Kingsford,  The  Hist,  of  Canada,  vol.  ii,  pp.  504-506 ;  Margry,  vol.  v, 
PP-  3^0-361. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

Fort  Frontenac  which  was  so  close  to  the  English  that  soon 
there  was  an  illicit  trade  established  with  the  merchants 
at  Albany.1  In  order  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  Com- 
pany, the  officials  of  New  France,  as  has  been  seen,  made 
violent  protests  to  the  home  government  against  such  men 
as  Le  Sueur  and  Juchereau,2  hoping  no  doubt,  to  force 
them  out  of  the  business,  thereby  shutting  off  competition 
and  forcing  down  the  prices  of  skins  demanded  by  the  In- 
dians. In  order  to  prevent  the  traders  of  New  France 
from  carrying  their  peltry  to  the  Louisiana  market,  also, 
the  director  of  the  "  Company  of  Canada  "  proposed  that 
all  beaver  skins  shipped  to  France  on  vessels  from  Louis- 
iana should  be  seized  at  Roche  fort  and  sold  at  the  same 
price  as  the  Company  was  paying  for  them  at  Quebec.3 

About  the  same  time  the  officials  of  New  France  sug- 
gested to  the  crown  that  the  boundary  between  the  two 
French  colonies  on  the  continent  of  North  America  be 
made  the  Ohio  river,  it  being  claimed  that  definite  limits 
would  enable  them  better  to  control  the  fur  trade.  In  order 
to  make  the  dividing  line  effective,  it  was  further  recom- 
mended that  the  following  posts  should  be  built,  namely, 
one  among  the  Miami;  another  on  the  Wabash  (Ohio) 
where  it  empties  in!o  the  Mississippi ;  a  third  on  the  Wis- 
consin ;  and  a  fourth  in  the  country  of  the  Sioux.  It  was 
further  suggested  to  the  home  government  that  Detroit  be 
made  the  center  for  the  trade  of  the  west.  With  headquar- 
ters at  the  latter  post  it  was  believed  to  be  possible  to  unify 
the  whole  fur  traffic  of  New  France,  since  the  colonial  offi- 
cials would  then  be  able  to  force  the  Indians  in  that  area 
to  carry  their  peltry  directly  to  Detroit,  enabling  them, 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  589-592 ;  Winsor,  The  Miss.  Basin,  p.  73. 

2  Supra,  p.  314. 

J  Margry,  vel.  iv,  pp.  61 1-612. 


317]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

therefore,  to  keep  the  savages  under  more  effective  con- 
trol.1 

The  affairs  of  the  Company  passed  from  bad  to  worse. 
On  October  5,  1701,  it  was  asserted  that  the  disorder  among 
their  Indian  agents  had  reached  such  a  state  that  those  in 
the  interior  did  not  come  back.  In  the  previous  September 
twelve  men,  with  four  canoes,  made  their  escape  and  since 
almost  their  entire  stock  of  merchandise  consisted  of 
brandy,  they  presumably  were  well  received  by  the  savages. 
The  peltry  they  procured  in  exchange,  it  was  believed, 
passed  to  the  colony  of  Louisiana.  The  Company  had  not 
increased  the  number  of  its  traders  because  the  quantity  of 
the  beaver  skins  permitted  to  send  annually  to  France 
was  limited.  It  was  claimed,  nevertheless,  that  there  were 
more  of  these  persons  than  ever  before  engaged  in  the  in- 
terior traffic,  from  whom,  naturally,  the  Company  derived 
no  profit.  The  peltry  they  collected  passed  to  the  English 
market  or  was  carried  to  the  French  at  Biloxi.2 

The  next  year,  1702,  the  royal  government  was  informed 
that  so  many  men  had  left  their  homes  in  New  France,  for 
the  purpose  of  entering  the  Louisiana  fur  trade,  that  many 
of  the  merchants  of  Montreal  and  Quebec  were  financially 
ruined  and  asked  that  the  practice  be  stopped.3  The  Louis- 
iana officials,  however,  stated  in  reply  that  the  difficulty 
rested  entirely  with  these  merchants  themselves,  because 
they  provided  the  men  with  merchandise  and  sent  them  into 
the  woods  to  buy  peltry  which  would  have  gone  over  to  the 
English  if  the  French  of  Louisiana  had  not  received  it.4 

In  1706,  the  "Company  of  Canada"  became  bankrupt. 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  588-590;  vol.  v,  pp.  359-3^2- 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  p.  358. 

s  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  610-611. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  628-629. 


3Ig  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [3Ig 

The  fur  trade  of  New  France  passed  to  "  Aubert,  Neyret 
and  Gayot ",  who  were  often  forced  to  pay  more  for  peltry 
than  they  were  able  to  secure  for  it  in  France.  The  firm 
spent  lavishly,  always  having  more  traders  in  its  employ 
than  the  traffic  would  warrant.  Each  year  therefore  the 
profits  fell  more  or  less  below  the  expenses.  Its  credit 
collapsing  brought  on  the  ruin  of  its  business,  which  in 
1718  was  given  to  a  new  company  for  a  term  of  twenty- 
four  years.1  The  prospects  for  the  new  organization,  how- 
ever, were  not  flattering,  since  the  failure  of  the  earlier 
company  had  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  traffic  in  peltry 
was  said  to  be  worth  annually  2,000,000  livres.  To  in- 
crease that  output  was  not  an  easy  task.2  The  company 
also  was  given  the  exclusive  beaver  trade  of  the  province. 
As  a  means  of  protection,  the  discovery  of  one  beaver  pelt 
on  board  a  vessel  not  belonging  to  it  was  to  be  considered 
sufficient  proof  to  warrant  confiscation  of  both  ship  and 
cargo.3 

Nothing  the  officials  of  New  France  did  to  regulate  the 
fur  trade  of  that  province  seems  to  have  succeeded.  The 
independent  traders  became  yearly  more  numerous,  their 
ranks  being  swelled  by  soldiers  sent  to  the  frontier  posts 
who  soon  became  traders  there.  When  their  commerce 
was  interfered  with  officially,  they  deserted  and  began 
trafficking  with  Louisiana  or  the  English.  Other  recruits 
came  from  among  the  settlers  of  New  France  who  believed 
it  less  profitable  to  till  the  soil.4 

Such  difficulties  were  trifling  in  comparison  with  the  in- 

1  Kingsford,  vol.  ii,  pp.  505-507. 

2  Doc.  Rel  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  757 ;  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage 
to  No.  Am.,  vol.  i,  p.  52;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  48. 

8  Kingsford,  vol.  ii,  p.  507. 

*  Coll.  Mich.  Pioneer  and  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxiii,  p.  243. 


319]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE 

termittent  wars  that  for  years  the  Fox  and  Iroquois  had 
waged  against  the  French  and  their  savage  allies,  at  times 
with  such  fierceness  as  to  threaten  to  destroy  the  entire 
traffic.1  In  1716,  the  government  of  New  France  offered 
amnesty  to  the  illicit  traders  on  condition  that  they  would 
agree  to  defend  the  province  against  these  hostile  savages.2 
Moreover  these  attacks  of  the  natives  brought  the  officials 
of  New  France  to  understand  that  in  order  to  keep  intact 
the  fur  trade  of  that  province  it  was  necessary  to  drop  the 
quarrel  with  Louisiana  concerning  it  and  unite  with  that 
colony  in  combating  English  aggression.  To  that  end  the 
governor  of  New  France  proposed  to  give  more  attention 
to  the  garrisons  at  the  frontier  posts  where  the  English  of 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Carolina  were  anxious  to  pass 
into  French  territory  by  means  of  rivers  that  furnished  easy 
communication  with  the  Mississippi,  the  very  center  of  the 
French  fur  traffic.3  In  1717,  therefore,  when  New  France 
lost  control  of  the  Illinois  country  the  circumstance  did 
not  affect  the  fur  trade  to  any  extent. 

In  1700,  it  was  asserted  that  "the  English  do  not  dis- 
criminate in  the  quality  of  the  beaver;  they  take  all  at  the 
same  rate,  which  is  more  than  50  per  cent  higher  than  the 
French,  there  being,  besides,  more  than  100  per  cent  dif- 
ference in  the  price  of  their  trade  and  ours."  4  To  a  con- 
siderable extent  the  variance  in  rate  paid  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  English  goods  were  preferred  by  the  savages  and 
could  be  procured  in  Europe  cheaper  than  could  the  similar 
French  merchandise.  As  a  result  many  of  the  French 

iRep.  and  Coll.  of  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xvi,  pp.  289-300;  Neill,  Hist, 
of  Minn.,  pp.  177-179. 

J  Coll.  Mich.  Pioneer  and  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxiii,  p.  573. 
*  Rep.  and  Coll.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xvi,  pp.  345-346. 
4  Doc.'Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  409. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [320 

traders  sold  to  the  natives  goods  of  English  make.1  The 
advantage  in  price  increased  English  influence  among  the 
Indians  year  by  year.  By  1705,  many  of  the  Miami  tribes 
had  been  won  over,  Juchereau's  post  on  the  Wabash  was 
destroyed,  and  Governor  Vaudreuil  found  it  necessary  to 
send  Vincennes  to  arrange  a  treaty  with  the  natives  in  ques- 
tion. Under  existing  conditions  such  a  mission  was  not 
easy.  In  1708,  the  Miami  came  to  trade  at  Albany  to  the 
joy  of  the  English  who  for  five  years  had  been  working  to 
that  end.2 

Encouraged  by  this  accomplishment,  the  people  of  New 
York  now  began  to  make  plans  to  drive  the  French  from 
Canada  as  the  only  way  to  establish  peace  with  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Moreover  they  were  of 
the  opinion  that  the  expulsion  would  be  neither  a  difficult 
nor  an  expensive  undertaking,  since  whatever  debt  was  in- 
curred in  the  conflict  could  be  paid  for  in  a  short  time  by 
the  Indian  trade  thus  acquired.3 

By  1715,  the  English  traders  had  penetrated  as  far  as 
the  Wabash.4  The  next  year  an  "  Ohio  Company  "  was 
formed  in  Virginia  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  west- 
ern traffic.  The  Board  of  Trade,  however,  withheld  its 
approval  by  laying  the  proposal  aside.  The  English  gov- 
ernment at  the  time  was  indolent  and  much  "  afraid  of 
giving  umbrage  to  the  French";  therefore  until  1748  it 
made  no  attempt  to  help  the  American  colonies  extend  their 
trade  and  settlement  into  the  Mississippi  valley.  Interest 
in  such  a  movement,  however,  seems  to  have  kept  alive, 
for  in  1729  Joshua  Gee  published  an  ingenious  discourse 

1  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  ix,  p.  409. 

-Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  pp.  10-11. 

1  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  1054-1055. 

4  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  p.  12. 


32 1  ]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  321 

on  trade,  in  which  he  urged  the  planting  of  colonies  as  far 
west  as  the  Mississippi  river.1  The  English  traders  mean- 
while had  not  waited  for  encouragement  from  the  home 
government.  In  1716,  they  sent  to  the  mother  country 
72,000  deer  skins;2  and  from  1717  to  1720  the  total  ex- 
ports from  New  York  alone  were  worth  £8,443  sterling, 
most  of  it  coming  from  the  territory  belonging  to  New 
France.3 

Up  to  this  time  the  struggle  with  the  French  had  been 
carried  on  chiefly  by  fur  traders  from  New  York;  after 
1716,  however,  Virginians  and  Pennsylvanians  became  in- 
creasingly active  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  In  the  year 
1716,  Governor  Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  sought  to  extend 
the  boundary  of  that  province  westward  far  enough  to 
break  the  communication  along  the  Mississippi  between 
New  France  and  Louisiana.*  He  wrote  to  the  Board  of 
Trade  that  the  British  dominions  were  surrounded  by 
French  territory  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  the  French  to 
secure  the  whole  Indian  trade  on  both  sides  of  the  Great 
Lakes.  This  position,  moreover,  made  it  possible  to  send 
out  bodies  of  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  Eng- 
lish frontier  settlements.  Fortunately  for  the  latter,  he  de- 
clared, the  mountains  in  the  rear  had  passes  unknown  to 
the  French;  hence  he  proposed  that  these  passes  be  seized 
by  the  English  before  they  should  become  known.5  New 
York  also  urged  upon  the  home  government  the  necessity 
of  strengthening  the  American  colonies  against  the  French, 
who  were  said  to  be  fortifying  themselves  by  making 

1  Dillon,  Hist,  of  Ind.,  p.  47. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  iv,  fol.  914. 

*  Roberts,  New  York,  vol.  i,  p.  233. 

4  Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Lib.,  No.  8,  p.  40. 

5  Board  of  Trade  Papers,  1718-1720,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 


322  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [322 

stronger  and  better  connections  between  New  France  and 
Louisiana.1 

New  York  was  becoming  more  and  more  convinced  that 
the  only  way  for  the  English  to  win  control  of  the  fur 
trade  of  the  northwest  was  to  secure  the  Indians  as  allies, 
through  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  it  was  useless  to  at- 
tempt "  to  persuade  an  Indian  otherwise  than  that  they  are 
his  best  friends  who  can  help  him  to  the  best  bargains  ".2 
By  such  a  policy  New  York  for  years  had  usually  kept  the 
friendship  of  the  Iroquois,  yet  at  times  some  of  the  tribes, 
through  the  influence  of  the  Jesuits,  had  shifted  over  to  the 
French  for  short  periods  of  time.  These  exceptions,  how- 
ever, simply  strengthened  the  English  in  their  belief  that 
the  confidence  of  an  Indian  could  be  acquired  and  held 
only  by  affording  him  advantageous  commercial  opportu- 
nities.3 The  English  traders,  therefore,  were  encouraged 
to  deal  fairly  with  all  the  savage  tribes,  and  each  of  the 
provinces  was  to  bear  its  proportional  share  of  the  expense 
of  building  posts  to  the  westward  in  order  to  advance  the 
traffic.4 

In  spite  of  the  active  interests  the  merchants  of  New 
York  had  had  in  the  western  fur  trade  up  to  1720,  they 
were  still  unable  to  compete  with  the  Indians  and  French. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  century,  however,  the  New  York 
merchants  had  derived  handsome  profits  by  selling  to  the 
French  almost  all  the  merchandise,  except  a  small  amount 
of  brandy,  that  they  used  in  their  transactions  with  the 
natives.  Such  goods  could  be  bought  at  Albany  easier  and 
cheaper  5  than  they  could  be  imported  from  Europe,  a  cir- 
cumstance due  in  part  to  the  impossibility  of  navigating  the 

1  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  v,  p.  502. 
*  B.  of  T.  Papers,  pt.  2,  vol.  x,  1718-1720,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 
» Ibid.  4  Ibid. 

5  Supra,  p.  319. 


323]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  323 

St.  Lawrence  during  a  number  of  months  in  the  winter 
season.1 

At  this  time  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  felt 
that  direct  trade  with  the  Indians  would  be  much  more  ad- 
vantageous to  the  province  as  a  whole.  To  this  end  laws 
were  passed  in  1720,  1722  and  1724  prohibiting  the  sale 
of  Indian  goods  to  persons  from  New  France.  This  action, 
it  was  claimed,  would  ruin  Montreal  to  the  corresponding 
benefit  of  New  York.  Strouds  that  cost  £10  sterling  at 
the  latter  sold  at  the  former  at  £25.  The  difference,  it  was 
claimed  at  the  time  the  bills  were  pending,  would  enable 
the  English  to  sell  the  goods  directly  to  the  natives  50  per 
cent  cheaper,  and  give  their  traders  the  same  profits  that 
the  French  were  getting.2  As  late  as  1739  the  New  York 
officials  asserted  the  prohibition  laid  on  the  trade  with  New 
France  was  working  well,  and  informed  the  home  govern- 
ment that  presents  should  be  sent  to  the  Iroquois  for  the 
service  they  rendered  in  making  it  effective.3 

There  was,  however,  a  considerable  number  of  persons 
who  did  not  view  the  arrangement  with  favor.  They  were 
satisfied  with  the  trade  as  it  had  been  and  had  no  desire  to 
incur  the  risk  that  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  carry  it 
on  directly  in  the  Indian  country.  An  illicit  traffic  sprang 
up  with  New  France  which  was  most  exasperating  to  those 
who  had  promoted  the  enactment  of  the  laws  in  question. 
On  the  other  hand,  October  28,  1748,  they  were  encouraged 
in  this  regard  by  the  news  that  the  Indians  had  killed  two 
Frenchmen  who  had  tried  to  prevent  them  from  carrying 
peltry  to  the  English.  Governor  Clinton  at  once  began  to 

1  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  v,  p.  577 ;  Golden,  vol.  i,  pp.  103- 
105- 

2  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  v,  p.  757 ;  Golden,  vol.  i,  pp.  103- 
105. 

8  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  vi,  p.  157. 


324  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [324 

use  ail  his  influence  to  shut  off  the  clandestine  trade.  The 
assembly,  however,  was  controlled  at  the  time  by  men 
who  favored  it,  hence  nothing  effective  could  be  done  in 
restraint.1  At  the  opening  of  the  second  war  with  England, 
therefore,  this  traffic  between  Albany  and  New  France  was 
still  being  carried  on.  In  1756,  Governor  Shirley  renewed 
Governor  Clinton's  proposal  to  establish  direct  trade  with 
the  Indians  at  Oswego,  but  the  war  made  it  impossible  to 
adopt  and  carry  out  vigorously  any  trading  policy  what- 
ever.2 

New  France,  on  the  other  hand,  succeeded  in  persuading 
the  Indians  to  allow  a  fort  to  be  built  on  the  Great  Lakes 
that,  it  was  hoped,  might  cut  off  to  some  extent  the  English 
trade  at  Oswego.3  On  May  14,  1726,  the  French  entered 
into  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  friendship  with  the  Sioux. 
To  that  end  an  exclusive  right  of  trade  with  these  tribes 
for  three  years,  also,  was  given  to  a  company  protected 
by  an  order  to  commanding  officers  at  the  French  posts  in 
that  territory  to  confiscate  the  merchandise  of  all  persons 
guilty  of  interference  with  it,  one-half  of  the  goods  thus 
forfeited  to  go  to  the  company,  the  other  to  the  crown.  It 
was  permitted  to  build  storehouses  at  places  where  there 
was  such  an  officer,  but  nowhere  else.  It  was  to  be  allowed 
1,350  livres  worth  of  merchandise  annually  and  as  many 
boats  to  carry  on  the  traffic  with  Montreal  as  the  trade 
would  warrant.  Its  agents,  however,  were  not  to  engage  in 
commerce  with  the  natives  on  the  way  to  or  from  Montreal. 
At  the  end  of  the  three  years  the  government  of  New 
France  reserved  the  right  to  assign  the  privilege  to  the 
highest  bidder  or  to  whomsoever  it  saw  fit;  meanwhile  no 

1  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  vi,  pp.  371-374,  455- 

2  Bancroft  Papers,  1755-1757,  Jan.  5,  1756,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

3  Parkman,  A  Half-Century  of  Conflict,  vol.  ii,  p.  52. 


325]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  325 

member  of  the  company  should  sell  or  transfer  his  stock 
to  an  ecclesiastic  or  any  one  whose  activities  might  lead  to 
competition  with  that  organization.1  A  right  so  restricted 
seems  not  to  have  appealed  strongly  to  other  merchants  in 
Montreal,  for  when  the  grant  expired  it  was  renewed  in 
favor  of  practically  the  same  persons  as  before.2 

From  1730  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  England  in 
1744  there  was  no  change  by  either  the  French  or  English 
in  the  methods  employed  in  the  western  fur  trade.  Each 
side  worked  to  strengthen  its  alliance  with  its  own  Indians 
and  to  increase  the  number  won  over  from  the  allies  of  its 
opponents.3  The  English  at  the  time,  however,  were  not 
well  organized  to  meet  aggression,  and  on  September  20, 
1731,  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  recommended  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  that  it  instruct  the  governor  in  the  sev- 
eral provinces  to  take  especial  care  of  the  commerce  with 
the  western  Indians,  but  in  the  endeavor  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  a  particular  province  the  governor  there  should 
see  to  it  that  nothing  was  done  that  would  weaken  the  trade 
of  an  English  neighbor.4 

The  activities  of  the  French  traders  up  to  1720  had  had 
little  effect  upon  the  provinces  of  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia, except  perhaps  to  draw  away  a  few  of  their  allies.6 
By  this  time  they  had  carried  the  work  of  alienating  the 
savages  so  far  that  they  had  been  able  to  prevail  upon  the 
Iroquois  to  make  groundless  complaints  against  the  peo- 
ple of  Pennsylvania,  who,  the  Indians  were  led  to  believe, 
were  a  mild  and  defenseless  folk.  It  was  asserted,  further, 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  547-552. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  563-567. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  184-185. 

4  B.  of  T.  Papers,  vol.  xiii,  Sept.  28,  1731,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 

6  Ibid.,  1720-1727,  vol.  xi,  Nov.  30,  1720. 


326  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [326 

that  the  French  had  instigated  inter-tribal  wars  for  the 
purpose  of  drawing  all  of  the  English  colonies  into  a  war 
with  the  western  tribes.1  In  1721,  accordingly,  Governor 
Keith  asked  the  home  government  "  to  fortify  the  passes 
back  to  Virginia  ",  "  to  build  forts  on  the  Mississippi  ".a 
During  the  year  Spotswood  wrote  to  Keith  asking  him  to 
make  an  agreement  with  Virginia  to  unite  in  an  effort  to 
hold  the  loyalty  of  the  Indians  east  of  the  mountains.3  At 
this  time  the  English,  in  order  to  offset  French  influence 
among  the  tribes  of  the  Ohio  valley,  decided  to  push  more 
vigorously  the  old  principle  of  furnishing  them  with  goods 
at  fair  prices.  In  spite  of  this  decision  and  active  en- 
deavors to  carry  it  out,  the  avarice  of  the  traders  led  them 
to  impose  upon  the  Indians,  thus  arousing  their  hostility 
rather  than  winning  their  friendship.* 

About  1 740,  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  traders  began 
to  be  much  more  keenly  interested  in  the  western  traffic.5 
In  order  to  safeguard  Pennsylvania  at  least,  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians  at  Lancaster  was  made  in  I744-6  After  that 
agreement  the  Pennsylvanians  became  bolder.  From  1745 
to  1753  sixty  of  them  were  busy  in  the  west  where  they 
bought  thousands  of  skins  from  the  Indians.  Some  of  the 
traders  sent  out  regular  trains  of  fifteen  and  twenty  pack- 
horses  that  made  several  trips  each  year.7  Some  of  them 
also  passed  up  the  Alleghany  river  and  westward  to  Lake 
Erie,  whence  they  drove  their  pack-horses  across  country 

1  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  iii,  p.  98. 

*  Thwaites,  Wisconsin,  pp.  88-89. 

8  The  American  Weekly  Mercury,  No.  75,  p.  51,  May  25,  1721. 
4  Coll.  and  Res.  Mich.  Pioneer  and  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  xix,  pp.  12-13. 

*  Gordon,  Hist.  Penn.,  pp.  249,  259-260. 

*  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  698-699;  vol.  v,  p.  24. 
1  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  pp.  42-43. 


327]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  337 

to  the  Scioto  river.  Others,  even  more  venturesome,  went 
on  to  the  Wabash  where  they  traded  with  the  Miami,  thereby 
tapping  the  rich  fur-producing  region  between  Lake  Michi- 
gan and  Lake  Erie ;  a  territory  up  to  this  time  entirely  con- 
trolled by  New  France.1 

The  French  found  it  most  difficult  to  make  headway 
against  these  English  traders  who  paid  the  Indians  twice 
as  much  and  gave  them  more  presents.2  Thereupon  the 
French  called  to  their  assistance  Peter  Chartiere,  son  of 
Martin,3  and  a  band  of  Shawnee  Indians  who  at  once  began 
to  rob  the  Pennsylvanians.  By  1747,  almost  the  entire 
Miami  trade  again  came  under  the  control  of  the  French 
who,  however,  did  not  use  their  influence  wisely.  They 
lowered  the  price  of  skins  and  vainly  tried  to  induce  the  In- 
dians to  believe  that  the  decline  was  caused  by  the  war. 
Finally,  when  the  offer  for  peltry  in  one  case  fell  so  low 
that  a  single  charge  of  powder  and  a  bullet  was  all  the 
Frenchman  would  give  for  a  beaver  skin,  the  Indian 
promptly  buried  his  hatchet  in  the  head  of  that  individual 
and  scalped  him.  Five  others  of  that  nationality  also  lost 
their  lives  while  engaged  in  trade  with  the  natives  to  the 
south  of  Lake  Erie,  and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  sav- 
ages had  been  encouraged  in  such  hostilities  through  the 
influence  of  the  Pennsylvanians.4  The  latter  continued 
warring  on  the  French  competitors. 

In  May,  1747,  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania from  the  Indians  around  Detroit,  the  spelling  and 
construction  of  which  seemed  to  show  the  earmarks  of  a 
jealous  Pennsylvania  trader.  George  Croghan,  "  prince  of 

1  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  p.  12;  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  v,  pp. 
24,  87. 

2  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  x,  pp.  115,  "9,  144- 

3  Supra,  p.  315. 

*  Penn.  Arch.,  vol.  i,  pp.  741-742. 


328  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [328 

the  Pennsylvania  traders  ",  told  the  governor  that  the  In- 
dian allies  of  the  French  had  been  won  over  and  that  it  was 
now  feasible  to  reinforce  the  English  influence  over  them 
by  sending  them  presents.  The  policy  of  Pennsylvania, 
however,  was  opposed  to  using  the  western  tribes  for  war- 
like purposes,  but  not  averse  to  widening  the  area  of  the 
fur  trade.1  Croghan  and  his  fellow  traders  nevertheless 
began  to  urge  that  arms  be  furnished  to  the  natives  around 
Lake  Erie.  The  colonial  council  and  assembly  hesitated  to 
take  the  step,  whereupon,  in  September,  1747,  Croghan 
wrote  to  the  Governor :  "  The  Inguns  att  this  side  of  Lake 
Eary  is  Making  warr  very  Briskly  Against  the  French,  Butt 
it  is  very  impatiant  To  hear  from  there  Brothers,  ye  Eng- 
lish, Expecting  a  Present  of  powder  and  Lead,  which  if 
they  Don't  gett,  I  am  of  Opinion,  By  the  Best  Accounts  I 
can  gett,  That  they  will  Turn  to  the  French,  which  will  be 
very  willing  to  make  up  with  them  again.  Sr,  if  there  be 
no  provision  Made  for  to  Send  them  a  present  by  some  of 
the  Traders  Directly,  Send  Me  an  account  by  first  oppor- 
tunity, for  if  there  be  Nothing  Sent  I  will  not  Send  any 
Goods  or  Men  this  year  for  fear  of  Danger."  2  Croghan, 
it  seems,  struck  the  one  vulnerable  spot.  Presents  for  the 
western  Indians  were  immediately  provided,  the  tribes 
around  Lake  Erie  receiving  powder  and  lead  worth  £30  or 
£40  sterling.3 

Croghan  thus  had  won  his  point  with  the  Pennsylvania 
officials,  and  on  August  10,  1748,  nine  licensed  and  forty- 
nine  unlicensed  traders  left  for  the  interior.4  The  aug- 
mentation of  the  number  of  men  in  the  western  traffic  of 
the  Quaker  province  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Twight- 

1  Penn.  Arch.,  vol.  i,  pp.  741-742. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  770.  *  Ibid.,  pp.  771-772. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  p.  14. 


329]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  329 

wee  were  aware  that  the  French  paid  poor  prices  for  peltry 
in  places  where  there  were  no  English  competitors,  hence 
were  encouraging  the  latter  to  come  among  them.  The 
growth  of  friendship  between  the  Pennsy Iranians  and  the 
savages  resulted  in  a  treaty  at  Logstown,  in  1748,  which 
virtually  gave  the  former  control  of  the  Indian  traffic 
as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi.  Moreover  is  was  now  pos- 
sible for  the  English  to  interrupt  French  communication 
between  Louisiana  and  New  France.1  On  July  23,  1748, 
Pennsylvania  strengthened  its  position  still  further  by  mak- 
ing a  treaty  of  commerce  and  friendship  at  Lancaster  with 
representatives  of  the  Miami  tribes.  The  agreement  was 
particularly  advantageous  to  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
and  of  some  value  to  the  other  English  colonies.2 

The  safety  that  these  arrangements  with  the  Indians  af- 
forded to  the  traders  stimulated  them  to  advance  farther 
and  farther  into  French  territory.  The  next  year,  Celeron, 
August  6,  1749,  on  meeting  some  of  these  Pennsylvanians 
in  the  Ohio  valley,  sent  word  by  them  to  the  officials  of 
their  province  that  their  traders  were  to  be  kept  out  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.3  Little  heed  was  paid  to  this  demand. 
On  the  contrary,  the  governors  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland 
and  Virginia  caused  the  trail  that  ran  from  the  Miami 
country  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  and  from  there  to  Will's 
Creek  on  the  Potomac  to  be  cleared  in  order  to  make  the 
journey  thither  for  the  traders  and  Indians  easier.4  The 
improvement  of  this  highway  into  the  Indian  country  was 
a  hard  blow  to  the  French  in  the  Ohio  valley,  and  was  per- 
haps the  most  important  move  made  by  the  English  up  to 

1  Penn.  Col  Rec.,  vol.  v,  pp.  315,  322. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  pp.  316-319. 

*  Walton,  Conrad  Weiser,  pp.  229-  231. 
4  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  p.  24. 


330  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [330 

this  time  in  their  endeavor  to  get  control  of  the  western 
fur  trade. 

With  the  development  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
traffic  with  the  Indians,  the  settlements  gradually  advanced 
westward  and  by  the  end  of  the  war  in  1748  had  reached 
the  foothills  of  the  last  range  of  mountains  separating  those 
colonies  from  the  Mississippi  valley.  In  1748,  Thomas 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  in  conjunction  with  twelve  other  men 
from  that  province  and  Maryland,  and  Handbury,  a  Lon- 
don merchant,  formed  "  The  Ohio  Company  "  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stimulating  progress  in  that  direction  and  pro- 
moting trade.1  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  Christopher  Gist  and 
others  were  sent  out  in  the  following  year  to  explore  the 
western  country  which  they  traversed  as  far  as  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio.2  The  Company  also  despatched  Barney  Cur- 
ran,  a  trader,  with  goods  to  exchange  for  peltry  with  the 
natives  there.3 

Between  the  Pennsylvania  traders  and  those  of  Virginia 
and  Maryland  so  much  jealousy  and  rivalry  in  the  fur  trade 
developed  as  to  threaten  to  destroy  the  effectiveness  of  the 
Logstown  treaty.4  Because  of  the  greater  distance  to  be 
covered  those  from  the  two  latter  provinces  were  put  to 
much  more  expense  and  hence  were  readily  undersold  by 
the  Pennsylvanians.  The  Virginians  and  Marylanders 
complained  bitterly  of  this  disadvantage,  and  differences 
often  arose  between  them  and  the  traders  from  Pennsyl- 
vania while  actually  at  work  among  the  Indians.  This  lack 
of  unity  greatly  weakened  the  English  encroachment  upon 
the  French  territory.5  During  the  recent  war  the  French 

1  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  v,  pp.  422-424 ;  Dillon,  p.  50. 

*  Filson  Club  Papers,  No.  13,  pp.  1-83;  Dillon,  pp.  50-51. 

*  Mag.  West.  Hist.,  vol.  vi,  p.  105. 

*  Penn.  Arch.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  31,  46-49. 

*  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  p.  25. 


331  ]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  33! 

had  lost  many  of  their  Indian  allies.  Until  its  close  there 
was  little  opposition  to  English  aggression  further  than 
protests  sent  to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was 
asked  to  recall  the  traders.1 

In  1749,  Governor  Vaudreuil  was  instructed  to  do  what 
he  could  to  stop  the  English  advance  into  the  Ohio  valley. 
To  this  end  a  union  of  the  Indian  tribes  was  proposed,  and 
also  the  building  of  one  or  two  posts  on  the  upper  Ohio  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  the  English  from  doing  so,  in 
which  case  they  could  easily  carry  on  the  trade  in  all  parts 
of  the  French  fur  fields.2  The  next  year  New  France 
warned  the  English  of  Pennsylvania  that  their  people  were 
trespassing  on  French  soil  where,  if  they  persisted,  their 
goods  would  be  seized  and  confiscated.3  Moreover,  the 
French  had  bettered  their  organization  and  were  energeti- 
cally at  work  winning  back  the  friendship  of  the  Indians 
whom  they  had  lost  for  a  while. 

By  December  17,  1750,  the  Pennsylvania  traders  began 
to  feel  the  results  of  the  renewal  of  French  activity  in  the 
Ohio  valley.  Croghan's  men,  for  example,  reported  that 
two  of  their  number  and  seven  horses  loaded  with  skins 
had  been  seized  and  carried  to  a  new  post  being  built  on 
an  arm  of  Lake  Erie  (probably  Sandusky).4  The  English 
on  their  part  were  striving  to  counteract  the  growing 
French  influence  with  all  the  force  they  could  muster.  In 
May,  1751,  they  were  still  holding  the  trade  of  many  of  the 
savages.5  The  next  year  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  traders 
met  the  Ohio  Indians  at  Logstown  where  the  tribes  con- 

1  Penn,  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  v,  p.  425 ;  Mag.  West.  Hist.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  369-373. 
*  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  727. 

3  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  vi.  p.  565. 

4  Journal  of  George  Croghan,  Dec.  17,  1750;  in  Taylor's  Ohio,  p.  61. 

5  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  i,  p.  59. 


332  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [332 

firmed  the  Lancaster  treaty  and  agreed  to  further  the  opera- 
tions of  the  "  Ohio  Company  "-1 

The  treaty,  however,  did  not  assure  full  protection.  On 
December  10,  1753,  some  of  the  English  found  on  French 
territory  were  robbed  of  their  merchandise,  others  were 
killed  and  still  others  carried  away  as  prisoners.  At  the 
time  the  English  claimed  that  the  officials  of  New  France 
and  Louisiana  were  paying  100  crowns  for  each  English 
scalp  brought  in.  This  information  no  doubt  was  derived 
from  their  spies  whom  they  kept  among  the  western  In- 
dians, for  the  purpose  of  inciting  the  tribes  to  war  against 
the  French.2 

The  English  traders  among  the  natives  there  nevertheless 
did  not  work  as  effectively  as  they  might  have  done.  As 
early  as  1753  the  savages  complained  these  traders  brought 
them  "  scarcely  anything  but  Rum  and  Flour;  They  bring 
little  Powder  and  Lead  or  other  valuable  goods.  The  rum 
ruins  Us.  .  .  .  When  these  whiskey  traders  come  they 
bring  thirty  or  forty  Caggs  and  put  it  down  before  Us  and 
make  Us  drink  and  get  all  the  Skins  that  should  go  to  pay 
the  Debts  We  have  contracted  for  Goods  bought  of  the 
Fair  Traders.  .  .  .  The  wicked  Whiskey  Sellers  when  they 
have  once  got  the  Indians  in  Liquor  make  them  sell  their 
very  Clothes  from  their  Backs.  .  .  ."  s  Such  behavior  was 
not  conducive  to  the  building-up  of  a  strong  influence  over 
the  western  tribes,  hence  by  1755  the  English  had  lost  much 
of  their  power  over  the  Ohio  Indians,  and  the  Delaware 
were  already  at  war  with  them.4  The  next  year  they  lost 
both  the  Twightwee  and  the  Jachquai  (sic).5 

1  Mag.  West.  Hist.,  vol.  vi,  p.  335. 

1  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  pp.  73-74. 

*  Penn.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  v,  p.  676. 

*  Walton,  p.  227. 

5  Board  of  Trade  Papers,  1754-1757,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 


333]  NEW  FRANCE  IN  THE  FUR  TRADE  333 

At  the  renewal  of  war  with  Great  Britain,  therefore,  the 
French  had  much  support  from  the  natives.  In  1758,  the 
savages  of  the  upper  Ohio  were  carrying  most  of  their 
peltry  to  Detroit  where  they  always  found  plenty  of 
French  traders  ready  to  buy  it.  French  brandy,  however, 
was  not  so  plentiful  as  English  rum.  At  times  the  Indians 
found  it  necessary  to  call  a  council  in  order  to  decide  who 
should  be  the  ones  to  get  drunk.1 

Regarding  the  amount  of  peltry  that  passed  from  the 
Mississippi  valley  to  New  France  and  to  the  English  colo- 
nies during  the  period  in  question,  few  statistics  are  avail- 
able. On  August  20,  1749,  there  were  at  Oswego  193 
canoes  manned  by  1,557  men  wno  nad  carried  thither  1,185 
packs  of  skins  of  which  1,049  came  from  the  western  coun- 
try. Out  of  this  number  of  canoes  three  were  manned  by 
thirty-six  Frenchmen  who  brought  thirty-five  packs.  The 
value  of  the  peltry  thus  carried  to  this  post  was  £21,406 
sterling.2  The  Miami  alone  brought  seventy-seven  packs 
in  eleven  canoes  manned  by  eighty-eight  men.8  By  1761,  the 
value  of  the  goods  necessary  to  carry  on  the  Indian  trade 
in  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  amounted  to  1,500,000 
livres,  when  sold  at  an  advance  of  30  per  cent  to  cover 
freight  charges.  It  was  asserted  at  this  time  by  the  Eng- 
lish that  the  French  "  computed  the  value  of  all  kinds  of 
skins  imported  from  Canada  to  amount  to  £135,000  ster- 
ling per  annum  "."  At  the  same  time  all  the  northern  Eng- 
lish colonies  did  not  export  to  the  mother  country  more 
than  £90,000  sterling.  The  next  year  the  peltry  that 

I  Ohio  Valley  Hist.  Series,  No.  5,  pp.  75-76. 

II  Doc.  Rel.  to  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  vi,  p.  538. 

*  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  p.  25. 

*  Coll.  and  Res.  Mich.  Pioneer  and  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  xix,  p.  14;  The 
Present  State  of  the  British  and  French  Trade,  etc.,  1745,  P-  9- 


334  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [334 

reached  Montreal  from  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  was 
worth  146,000  livres.1 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  output  of  furs  from 
New  France  was  greater  than  that  from  its  English  rival, 
and  the  further  fact  that  in  1763  Fort  Ouiatanon  alone 
sent  to  Detroit  80,000  pounds  of  peltry,  the  French  had  lost 
to  the  English  in  the  struggle  for  the  control  of  this  traffic. 
The  latter  were  at  this  time  trading  in  Wisconsin.  For 
example,  Denis  Croghan,  in  the  spring  of  1763,  arrived  at 
Green  Bay  with  seventy  packs  each  weighing  thirty  pounds.3 

In  short,  then,  the  account  of  the  peltry  that  passed  from 
the  Mississippi  valley  to  New  France  and  to  the  English 
colonies  during  the  period  under  consideration  shows  that 
up  to  1720  the  greater  part  of  the  skins  from  that  region 
were  despatched  to  Europe  by  way  of  Montreal  and  Que- 
bec. From  the  beginning  of  the  century  at  least  many  pelts 
passed  from  these  two  markets  to  Albany  and  from  there 
were  shipped  to  Europe.  From  this  time  to  the  opening  of 
the  first  war  with  England  the  French  continued  in  the 
ascendancy,  but  all  the  while  were  gradually  letting  that 
power  pass  into  the  hands  of  their  rival.  Between  1744 
and  1750  the  English  merchants  received  a  larger  quantity 
of  the  peltry  from  the  region  in  question  than  did  the 
French.  Before  the  opening  of  the  Seven  Year  War,  how- 
ever, the  latter  had  regained  much  they  had  lost.  For  the 
remainder  of  the  time  the  trade  was  in  such  great  confusion 
that  not  much  definite  knowledge  can  be  ascertained  con- 
cerning it.  The  few  facts  available,  at  all  events,  show  that 
the  French  obtained  peltry  in  considerable  quantities  up  to 
the  time  the  province  was  ceded  to  the  English. 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  British  and  French  Trade,  etc.,  1745,  p.  9- 
*  Coll.  and  Rep.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  viii,  p.  235. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA,  1699-1763 

AMONG  Iberville's  schemes  for  the  development  of  the 
province  was  one  for  the  promotion  of  a  trade  in  skins  with 
the  natives.  As  early  as  1 700,  he  had  received  some  buffalo 
hides  from  the  Illinois  country  and  had  engaged  the  "  voy- 
ageurs  "  returning  thither  to  procure  more  of  them  in  order 
to  ascertain  their  possible  value  in  the  markets  of  France. 
For  each  skin  the  hunters  were  to  receive  seven  livres;  in 
order  to  secure  the  skins  more  rapidly  they  were  instructed 
to  do  what  they  could  to  induce  the  Illinois  Indians  to 
abandon  the  beaver  for  the  buffalo  hunt.  In  Iberville's 
opinion  the  savages  would  prefer  the  latter  if  the  hides 
would  bring  as  large  returns  as  the  skins  of  the  former  did. 
In  order  to  carry  on  this  traffic  on  a  large  scale  it  was 
further  proposed  to  have  a  number  of  large  flatboats  con- 
structed, on  which  considerable  quantities  could  be  sent 
down  the  Mississippi,1  there  to  be  placed  on  ocean  vessels 
and  shipped  to  France.2 

Iberville's  previous  knowledge  of  the  fur  trade  about  the 
Hudson  Bay  3  led  him  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  per- 
suading the  natives  of  that  region  to  sell  the  peltry  to 
traders  from  Louisiana  whom  he  proposed  to  station  on 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  river.  With  prices  the 
same  and  French  merchandise  as  attractive  as  that  offered 

1  Supra,  p.  59. 

a  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  376. 

'  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  pp.  497-500. 

335]  335 


236  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [336 

by  the  English,  the  Indians  undoubtedly  would  prefer  to 
dispose  of  the  pelts  in  this  fashion  rather  than  to  carry 
them  miles  over  a  difficult  and  dangerous  country  in  order 
to  exchange  them  for  the  latter's  goods.  If  workable  the 
scheme  would  completely  destroy  the  traffic  of  the  English 
in  that  region  since  none  of  their  traders  could  be  induced 
to  follow  the  savages  into  the  interior.  Iberville  asserted 
that  if  such  a  traffic  were  established,  within  four  or  five 
years  it  would  draw  away  from  Fort  Nelson  annually  be- 
tween 60,000  and  80,000  buffalo  skins,  worth  four  or  five 
livres  each;  150,000  deer  skins,  worth  2,500,000  livres;  and 
other  peltry,  such  as  that  of  the  bear,  wolf,  otter,  lynx, 
wild  cat,  fox  and  martin,  worth  at  least  200,000  livres.1 
The  proposal  seems  to  have  had  no  effect  on  his  own  gov- 
ernment, whereas  the  agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, in  order  to  strengthen  their  influence  over  the  In- 
dians with  whom  they  traded,  speedily  began  to  supply 
them  with  guns.2  For  some  time  the  energetic  way  in 
which  the  English  carried  on  their  work  made  it  impossible 
for  the  French  to  make  any  advance  in  the  field. 

In  1700,  Le  Sueur  3  left  Biloxi  with  two  boats,  manned 
by  nineteen  men ; 4  on  reaching  the  territory  in  the  Sioux 
country  assigned  him  by  his  patent,  he  began  operations 
by  establishing  a  post  on  the  Blue  river  which  he  named 
Fort  1'Huillier.5  During  his  stay  he  bought  3,600  beaver 
skins  6  and  many  other  pelts,  for  which  he  gave  in  exchange 
merchandise,  including  some  Brazilian  tobacco  that  was 
much  appreciated  by  the  savages.7  Trade  in  beaver  was 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  600-601.  2  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  p.  82. 

3  Supra,  p.  314. 

*  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  70. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  80. 

6  Supra,  p.  314. 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  417-419. 


337]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  237 

contrary  to  Le  Sueur's  grant;  but  he  justified  the  purchase 
on  the  ground  that  the  Indians  had  pillaged  his  canoes  and 
that  he  had  ta£en  the  pelts  in  compensation  for  his  losses. 
The  officials  of  New  France,  however,  asserted  that  the 
robbery  was  preconceived  by  Le  Sueur  in  order  to  have  an 
excuse  to  seize  the  skins.1  On  returning  to  Biloxi  he  soon 
sailed  for  France.  Nothing  more  was  done  with  his  grant 
in  the  Sioux  country,  due  perhaps  to  the  fact  that  the  Illi- 
nois opposed  the  French  going  there  to  trade,  fearing  they 
might  supply  the  Sioux  with  firearms;  the  very  thing  Le 
Sueur,  himself,  would  have  done  had  the  officials  permitted 
it.2  The  Illinois,  in  fact,  robbed  eleven  Frenchmen  who 
were  returning  from  that  region  of  beaver  skins  to  the 
value  of  33,000  livres.* 

During  the  very  first  year  of  the  existence  of  the  little 
French  settlement  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  quite  a  traffic  in 
skins  was  established  with  the  traders  coming  from  the 
tipper  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley.4  On  February  16, 
1700,  Tonty  and  others  from  the  Illinois  country  sold  at 
Biloxi  six  canoe  loads  of  beaver  pelts.5  As  has  been 
shown,6  this  commerce,  of  an  illicit  sort,  was  stimulated 
by  the  attitude  in  New  France  toward  it.  But  neither  length 
nor  the  hardships  of  a  voyage  to  the  Gulf  were  great 
enough  to  stop  the  traffic  in  question.  Therefore  both 
buffalo  hides  and  peltry  found  their  way  to  that  market  in 
prodigious  quantity.7  For  some  of  the  beaver  skins 
Iberville  gave  in  return  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  powder, 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  357. 

2  Ibid,,  vol.  vi,  p.  89. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  p.  366. 

*  Supra,  pp.  313,  314. 

*  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  364. 
6  Supra,  pp.  313,  314. 

7  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  521,  606-607. 


338  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [338 

and  "  some  of  his  people  have  also  given  them  other  goods 
in  trade  'V 

On  February  22,  1702,  Iberville  conferred  with  certain 
traders  from  the  Illinois  country  who  wished  to  sell  him 
the  beaver  skins  they  had  in  storage  there.  They  had  re- 
ceived flattering  offers  from  the  English,  but  the  risk  to  be 
incurred  in  the  transaction  made  them  prefer  to  sell  to  the 
French  at  Biloxi.2  Encouraged  by  this  opportunity,  Iber- 
ville began  to  consider  the  feasibility  of  increasing  the  fur 
trade  at  Biloxi  to  at  least  45,000  pounds  of  skins  annually.3 
This  he  proposed  to  bring  about  by  a  readjustment  of  the 
position  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  upper  valley.  The 
scheme  aroused  no  interest  on  the  part  of  the  home  gov- 
ernment, yet  a  royal  grant  at  this  time  was  made  to  Juche- 
reau*  who  soon  collected  15,000  skins  which  contributed 
in  some  measure  to  an  enlargement  of  the  quantity  of  skins 
sent  down  the  Mississippi  from  the  Illinois  country.5 

In  1704,  Bienville  tried  to  increase  the  trade  still  more 
by  attempting  to  induce  about  no  Frenchmen  who  were 
at  work  in  bands  of  seven  or  eight  in  the  Missouri  region 
to  come  down  with  their  peltry.6  About  this  time  a  quarrel 
broke  out  among  the  savages  of  the  Illinois  that  destroyed 
Juchereau's  post  on  the  Wabash,  involving  a  loss  of  13,000 
buffalo  hides  that  would  have  gone  to  the  same  market.7 
The  peltry  trade  of  the  French  was  further  disturbed  by 
hostilities  between  the  Alibamon  and  Mobile  Indians.8 

1  Rep.  and  Coll.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xvi,  pp.  201-202. 
1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  509-510.  *  Ibid.,  p.  598. 

4  Supra,  p.  314. 
6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O8,  fol.  458;  La  Harpe,  p.  367. 

6  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  368. 

7  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  i,  fol.  22S;Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc.,  pt.  i, 
p.  43;  Journal  of  Captain  Wm.  Trent,  pp.  10-11. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ii,  fol.  308;  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  435-436. 


339]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  330 

Louisiana,  like  New  France,  had  English  rivals  to  reckon 
with.  In  1699,  traders  of  that  nationality  had  given  the 
Indians  near  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  guns  and  other 
presents  in  order  to  alienate  them  from  the  French  and 
especially  from  the  Jesuits.1  A  year  later  Penicaut,  on 
passing  up  the  Mississippi  found  an  English  trader  also 
among  the  Arkansas  Indians.  He  was  kindly  disposed 
toward  the  French  and  rendered  them  much  assistance  in 
securing  food  of  which  the  latter  were  much  in  need.2 

These  Englishmen,  however,  were  evidently  not  the  first 
visitors  of  their  kind  to  the  valley.  Delisle's  map  of  1701 
shows  Carolina  trade  routes  as  far  west  as  the  Chickasaw, 
and  on  a  map  of  1 703  the  Tennessee  river  is  marked  as  the 
chief  thoroughfare.3  Carolinians  in  fact  were  much  ahead 
of  their  northern  neighbors  in  crossing  the  mountains.  It 
is  claimed  that  they  were  trading  with  the  Indians  on  the 
Cumberland  and  Tennessee  when  La  Salle  made  the  dis- 
covery of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that  by  1700 
were  passing  down  these  rivers  to  the  Ohio,  Wabash  and 
Mississippi.4 

In  1701,  the  French  government  was  informed  that  Eng- 
lish traders  were  among  the  Chickasaw,  and  was  advised  to 
establish  a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  in  order  to 
prevent  trade  from  being  developed  over  that  route  be- 
tween the  English  and  the  French.5  The  post  was  not  built 
Before  the  end  of  the  year  one  Frenchman  was  killed  on 
this  route,  though  five  others  made  successful  trips  to  Caro- 
lina and  brought  back  quantities  of  English  merchandise. 

1  Jes.  Rel,  vol.  Ixv,  p.  117. 

2  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.  and  Fla.,  vol.  i,  p.  63. 

3  Winsor,  The  Miss.  Basin,  p.  20. 

*Coxe,  Description,  etc.,  pp.  109-122;  King,  Ohio,  pp.  48-49. 

6  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  354-355- 


240  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [340 

This  traffic  explains  why  Iberville  wished  to  shift  the  rela- 
tive position  of  the  native  tribes  in  the  Illinois  country  to 
block  it  and  at  the  same  time  to  protect  the  French  against 
attacks  from  Indian  allies  of  the  English.1 

On  May  7,  1707,  it  was  stated  that  the  Carolinians  were 
receiving  from  the  western  Indians,  including  the  Chicka- 
saw,  about  50,000  skins  annually,  in  exchange  for  broad 
cloth,  red  and  white  beads,  knives,  guns,  powder  and  bul- 
lets worth  between  £2,500  and  £3,000  sterling.2  About  this 
time  the  Board  of  Trade  was  informed  that  English  mer- 
chandise was  attractive  to  the  Indians  and  held  the  sav- 
ages to  alliance  and  obedience  provided  its  price  were  low 
enough;  on  the  principle  that  "  they  affect  them  most  who 
sell  the  best  cheap  ".  It  was  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  the  traffic,  also,  that  Indian  traders  should  be  enabled  to 
buy  their  merchandise  at  as  low  a  rate  as  possible,  because 
they  were  often  forced  to  take  small  skins  at  double  their 
real  value  in  order  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  the 
savages.* 

The  influence  exercised  by  the  Carolinians  over  a  num- 
ber of  tribes  in  the  lower  Mississippi  valley  led  them  to 
believe  it  possible  to  control  all,  hence,  July  10,  1708,  the 
Board  of  Trade  was  informed  that  all  the  Indians  of  the 
"•  back  country  "  could  be  made  English  subjects  by  placing 
the  Yassas  and  other  friendly  tribes  on  the  Cussate  river, 
and  by  building  a  few  small  forts  on  the  frontier  where 
English  merchandise  could  be  stored.  The  home  govern- 
ment was  further  informed  that  the  Cherokee  were  an 
adequate  protection  for  Carolina  against  the  Illinois  and 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  599-600. 

2  Bancroft  Papers,  MSS.,  1662-1679,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

1  Public  Records  of  South  Carolina,  MSS.,  vol.  v,  p.  196;  Trans.  B 
of  T.,  Columbia,  S.  C. 


341  ]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA 

other  Indians  well  disposed  toward  the  French  from  the 
north,  but  that  the  Cherokee  were  greatly  harrassed  by  the 
Iroquois.  To  that  end  it  was  requested  that  New  York  be 
instructed  to  intercede  with  the  latter  to  cease  their  raids.1 

The  Carolinians  themselves  at  the  time  were  endeavor- 
ing to  bring  about  peace  with  the  Choctaw  and  wean  them 
away  from  the  French.  A  trader  in  fact  proposed  to  pass 
down  the  "  Talapotires  "  (Talapoosa)  with  a  fleet  of  eight 
canoes  and  an  army  of  500  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
stroying all  tribes  that  refused  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with 
the  English.  However,  just  as  the  scheme  was  ready  to 
be  carried  out  news  reached  him  that  the  French  and  Span- 
iards were  about  to  invade  Carolina;  whereupon  he  aban- 
doned the  warlike  phase  of  the  project,  and  proceeded  in  a 
peaceable  fashion  to  do  what  he  could  to  secure  an  alliance 
with  the  Choctaw.2  Meanwhile  the  Cherokee,  instigated 
no  doubt  by  the  English,  becoming  hostile  killed  two 
French  traders.3  In  order  to  defend  themselves  and  their 
Indian  allies,  accordingly,  the  French,  in  1710  or  1711, 
built  Fort  Massac  on  the  Ohio  river.4 

The  patent  of  Crozat  gave  him  an  exclusive  right  of 
trade  in  all  peltry,  except  beaver,  which  was  reserved  to 
New  France.5  When  his  agents  took  control  of  Louisiana 
they  found  the  English  of  Carolina  among  the  Natchez  and 
in  possession  of  storehouses  among  the  Choctaw."  These 
traders,  it  seems,  had  been  instructed  immediately  to  make 

1  Public  Records  of  South  Carolina,  MSS.,  vol.  v,  p.  198. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  195. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  ii,  fols.  5-32;  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxix,  1C,  Louis- 
iana,  fols.  9-19. 

*  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  vol.  Hi,  p.  55 ;   Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc., 
pt.  8,  p.  43. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxii,  fole.  1-8;  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  3,  p.  40. 

•  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  507. 


342  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [342 

a  study  of  the  French  and  Spanish  settlements,  and  send 
home  detailed  reports  of  their  observations.1 

To  offset  these  intrusions  on  the  part  of  the  English, 
Crozat's  officials  sent  out  twelve  men  with  two  canoes  to 
the  Natchez  country,  where  they  were  ordered  to  estab- 
lish a  post  where  trade  might  be  carried  on  with  these  sav- 
ages.2 Others  were  despatched  to  the  Illinois  country,  who 
on  their  return  brought  to  Mobile  bear,  wild  cat,  and  simi- 
lar skins.3  The  trade  carried  on  by  the  new  regime  was  not 
destined  to  prosper  because  the  officials  offered  such  low 
prices, — fifty  sols  for  bear  skins  and  fifteen  for  deer  skins, 
—that  most  of  the  peltry  either  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  English  or  up  to  New  France.  Traders  who  formerly 
brought  many  skins  to  Mobile  did  so  no  longer,  and  de- 
clared that  while  Crozat  remained  in  control  of  affairs  they 
would  continue  to  stay  away.  Moreover  the  official  price 
demanded  for  Indian  goods  robbed  them  of  all  their  profits.4 
The  settlers  in  lower  Louisiana,  however,  continued  to  re- 
ceive a  few  pelts  with  which  they  carried  on  an  illicit  trade 
with  vessels  that  chance  brought  to  their  shores.  For 
beaver  skins  they  received  three  livres  each  and  for  deer 
skins  fifty  sols,  but  in  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  such  ves- 
sels they  were  apt  to  lose  much  peltry  on  account  of  damage 
by  worms. 

The  work  of  Crozat's  traders  in  the  Illinois  country  was 
interrupted  by  the  hostilities  of  the  Natchez  who,  in  1714, 
began  to  kill  them  in  order  to  secure  their  merchandise.5 
Notwithstanding  the  danger  they  encountered  in  going  up 

1  Indian  Book,  1710-1718,  vol.  i,  p.  56.    Columbia,  S.  C. 

*  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  506. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  SVr.  F»,  vol.  ccxli;  Ser.  C18,  vol.  iii,  fols.  260-270. 
4  Ibid.,  Ser,  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  200-223. 

*  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  512-513. 


343]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  343 

and  down  the  Mississippi,  they  made  some  headway  in  the 
traffic  form  their  post  of  Charville  on  the  Tennessee  river.1 
The  same  year  Bienville  built  Fort  Toulouse,  so  as  to 
strengthen  the  French  trade  on  the  east  and  also  to  drive 
back  the  English  traders.2  Since  the  friendship  of  the 
Choctaw  had  already  been  gained,  attention  was  then  given 
to  winning  over  as  many  as  possible  of  the  Chickasaw.* 

On  May  4,  1716,  six  traders  with  three  canoes  laden 
with  peltry  reached  the  Gulf  coast,  and  in  September  of  the 
same  year  Bienville  sold  800  deer  skins  to  a  French  vessel 
for  four  reaux  each.*  The  traffic  was  still  hampered  by  the 
hostilities  of  the  Chickasaw  and  Natchez,  resulting  in  the 
death  of  a  numuber  of  Frenchmen.5  Some  peltry  was  ob- 
tained from  the  Red  river  district  and  some  from  the 
Creeks,  despite  the  presence  among  them  of  English  traders 
who  were  doing  business  on  a  much  larger  scale.8 

The  English  traders  held  large  debts  against  many  of 
the  Indians.  For  payment  they  seized  the  chickens  and 
hogs,  reaped  the  fields  and  took  away  the  crops  of  grain 
and  peas.  Moreover  they  forced  the  natives  to  carry  heavy 
burdens  for  them  over  long  distances.  When  the  savages 
protested  they  were  cruelly  beaten  and  otherwise  treated 
in  a  most  brutal  manner,  a  course  of  behavior  that  caused 
the  Indians  to  retaliate  in  kind.7 

The  French  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  this 

1  Supra,  p.  29. 

2  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  vii,  p.  237;  Coxe,  Desc.  of  the  Eng.  Prov. 
of  Carolana,  pp.  26-27. 

8  Hist  Coll  of  La.,  vol.  ii,  p.  236;  vol.  iii,  pp.  43-46. 

4  Guenin,  La  Louisiane,  p.  125. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iv,  fols.  355-365- 
«  Ibid.,  fol.  914. 

7  Letters  of  Governor  Spots-wood,  vol.  ii,  p.  94',  B.  of  T.  Papers, 
Prop.,  vol.  x,  p.  51,  Columbia,  S.  C. 


344  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [344 

break  between  the  English  and  their  savage  allies.  Soon 
they  had  won  over  the  Chickasaw,  Alibamon,  Jalipoosa, 
Abicaw,  and  some  other  tribes  that  had  been  trading  with 
the  English  for  thirty  years.  The  Carolinians  naturally 
were  alarmed  at  such  a  possibility  of  losing  their  entire 
hold  on  the  western  traffic  which  was  variously  estimated 
at  from  £1,000  to  £6,000  sterling  a  year  reckoned  in  terms 
of  cloth,  guns,  powder,  bullets  and  ironware  that  were  ex- 
changed for  buck  skins,  deer  skins,  and  other  peltry. 
Further  distress  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  about  200  per- 
sons who  were  occupied  wholly  in  the  Indian  trade  were 
thrown  out  of  employment.  The  Cherokee  continued 
faithful,  but  the  colonial  officials  wrote  to  the  home  gov- 
ernment that  "  God  only  knew  how  long  they  would  remain 
so  ".  By  1719,  indeed  the  English  had  lost  more  than  half 
of  their  Indian  traffic,  and  the  next  year  it  was  still  further 
embarrassed  when  some  of  their  pack-horse  drivers  de- 
serted to  the  French.1 

Although  the  Crozat  regime  had  been  very  discouraging 
to  trade  as  such,  it  had  considerably  increased  French  in- 
fluence among  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  lower  Mississippi 
valley.  Traffic  improved  when  the  Company  of  the  West 
took  over  Louisiana.  During  the  first  year  of  the  control 
at  least  1,000  deer  skins  were  shipped  to  France.2 

The  Company  soon  began  to  make  plans  to  better  the 
conditions  of  the  fur  trade.  To  this  end  it  sent  men  to  the 
upper  Missouri  for  the  purpose  of  entering  into  treaties  of 
commerce  and  friendship  with  the  Indians  there.  The  erec- 
tion of  Fort  Chartres  3  also  gave  considerable  strength  to 

1  B.  of  T.  Papers,  vol.  x,  pp.  1718-1720,  Trans.  Penn.  Hist.  Soc.;  Pub. 
Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  vii,  p.  237;  vol.  viii,  pp.  72,  240. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  v,  fol.  16. 

3  Supra,  p.  29. 


345]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  345 

•  T 

the  trade  in  the  Illinois  country,  and  from  this  time  onward 
a  great  deal  of  peltry  was  collected  there  for  the  Gulf  coast 
market.1  In  like  fashion  Fort  Assomption  2  served  to  make 
transportation  to  lower  Louisiana  safer,  and  to  hold  the 
hostile  Chickasaw  in  check.3  By  1721,  the  French  were 
able  to  adjust  certain  differences  that  had  arisen  with  the 
Choctaw  *  over  presents  and  prices ;  accordingly,  in  De- 
cember, La  Harpe  started  on  a  journey  westward  with  the 
object  of  making  treaties  of  friendship  with  the  Indians  on 
the  Arkansas.5 

The  acquisition  of  the  Illinois  country  6  did  not  increase 
the  Gulf  trade  in  beaver  skins,  because  the  animals  found 
there  were  almost  of  a  straw  color.  The  value  of  pelts  of 
the  sort  depended  upon  their  darkness  of  hue,  whereas  in 
the  case  of  light  shades  the  fur  was  thin  and  of  little  value.7 
Other  kinds  of  peltry,  however,  were  sent  down  in  great 
quantities.  Before  the  skins  could  be  shipped  to  France 
they  were  often  badly  damaged  in  the  warm  climate  be- 
cause of  the  crude  system  of  tanning.8  On  September  15, 
1720,  the  Louisiana  officials  informed  the  home  govern- 
ment that  they  were  able  to  provide  large  numbers  of 
buffalo  skins  from  the  Wabash  country,  but  that  it  was 
needful  to  tan  the  skins  carefully  in  order  to  prevent  their 
destruction  on  the  way  to  France.  To  this  end  it  was  pro- 
posed to  erect  tanneries  on  the  Wabash  and  to  send  thither 

1  Chicago  Hist.  Soc.  Coll,  vol.  iii,  p.  55 ;  Am.  St.  Papers,  Pub.  Lands, 
vol.  i,  p.  80. 

2  Supra,  p.  28. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  vi,  fol.  146. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  fols.  146-147. 
8  La  Harpe,  pp.  282-284. 

6  Supra,  p.  26. 

7  Charlevoix,  A  Voyage  to  North  America,  vol.  i,  p.  54. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  vi,  fol.  20;  Margry  vol.  v,  p.  626. 


246  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [346 

soldiers  who  understood  the  processes  involved.1  More- 
over in  the  effort  to  develop  the  fur  trade  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  valley,  traffic  with  the  Indians  about  Mobile,  consist- 
ing in  an  exchange  of  knives,  hatchets,  guns,  powder,  mir- 
rors and  brandy  for  deer  skins  and  corn,  was  not  over- 
looked.2 In  1721,  the  Company  endeavored  to  systemize 
the  commerce  in  peltry  by  fixing  the  prices  of  it  at  the  var- 
ious storehouses.3 

In  spite  of  the  recent  setback  the  English  of  Carolina 
soon  became  active  again  in  the  Louisiana  trade.  The  col- 
ony had  returned  to  the  old  English  principle  of  buying  up 
skins  at  fair  prices.  This,  it  was  believed,  would  eventu- 
ally bring  back  their  former  allies,  since  the  French  could 
not  undersell  their  English  competitors  because  the  French 
market  for  deer  skins  was  inferior.4  At  this  time  there 
were  probably  2,000  Indians  located  between  the  English 
and  French  settlements  in  lower  Louisiana  who  were  trad- 
ing indiscriminately  with  both.  The  Carolinians,  however, 
were  fearful  lest  these  natives  should  go  over  entirely  to 
the  French;  for  the  only  savages  upon  whom  the  English 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  626. 

2  Chaville,  p.  131. 

*  La  Harpe,  pp.  176-178. 

The  following  are  prices  fixed  for  Biloxi,  Mobile  and  Fort  Louis; 
delivered  elsewhere  they  were  diminished  by  the  cost  necessary  to  ship 
them  to  the  coast.  They  were  to  be  paid  for  in  bills  on  France,  having 
two  months'  time,  with  discount  at  ten  per  cent. 

Kinds                    Best  grade  Good  grade 

Beaver 3  livres  a  pound  34  sols  a  pound 

Buffalo 4  livres  each 

Cow 2  livres,  10  sols,  each 

Deer  skins With  head  and  tail  Without  head  and  tail 

Large     medium     small  Large     medium     small 

25             20           15  20             15           10  sols,  each 

4  Supra,  p.  319;  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  viii,  p.  227. 


347]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  347 

at  this  time  could  rely  were  the  Cherokee  who  were  at  war 
with  the  French.1  Notwithstanding  the  confidence  of  the 
English  in  their  ability  to  undersell  their  rivals,  the  pros- 
pects of  regaining  their  former  prestige  in  the  western  trade 
were  not  especially  flattering. 

Just  at  the  time  when  the  outlook  was  darkest  for  the 
English,  the  French  officials  began  playing  into  the  hands 
of  their  rivals  by  trying  to  persuade  the  traders  to  take  up 
agriculture,  which  they  believed  was  more  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  Louisiana.  The  traders,  too,  on  their  part  were 
furthering  the  English  advantage  by  demanding  of  the  In- 
dians high  prices  for  French  goods.2  In  1723,  trouble 
with  the  Natchez  led  to  the  issuance  of  an  order  suspend- 
ing all  commerce  with  them.  This  command  widened  the 
breach  between  the  officials  and  the  traders,  who  continued 
their  operations  much  as  before  in  utter  disregard  of  in- 
structions from  New  Orleans.3  The  Indians  on  the  Miss- 
ouri also  went  on  the  war  path,  robbing  the  Frenchmen  in 
their  territory.4 

Fort  Chartres  was  the  starting-point  of  the  traders  going 
to  the  Missouri,  as  well  as  the  place  from  which  voyages 
to  the  lower  Mississippi  began,  and  hence  was  a  post  of 
considerable  importance.5  On  October  7,  1724,  the  Osage 
Indians  sent  word  to  the  Louisiana  officials  that  they  had 
quantities  of  peltry,  especially  beaver  skins,  which  they  de- 
sired to  exchange  for  French  merchandise.6  The  year 
had  opened  with  some  of  these  savages  still  unfriendly,  due 

1  Pub.  Rec.  of  N.  C.,  vol.  ii,  p.  422. 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  654. 

8  Pickett,  Hist,  of  Ala.,  vol.  i,  pp.  232-233. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  209. 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  362-363,  365. 

6  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  427. 


348  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [348 

in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  French  were  short  of  goods  with 
which  to  trade.  Before  the  close  of  the  year,  however, 
Fort  Orleans  *  had  been  established  and  Bourgmont,  who 
was  placed  in  command,  was  able  to  arrange  treaties  with 
some  tribes  and  to  open  trade  with  the  Kansas  Indians  in 
particular.2  Even  earlier  than  this  the  French  had  at- 
tempted to  increase  their  influence  among  the  Sioux.  In 
1722,  they  were  dealing  with  five  of  the  twenty-five  or 
twenty-six  tribes.3  Much  of  the  trade  of  the  others  passed 
to  the  English  posts  on  Hudson's  Bay ;  accordingly,  in  order 
to  break  it  up  a  post  was  established,  in  1724,  at  "  Tekama- 
miowen  "  in  the  Sioux  country.4 

By  1725,  the  Company  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  it 
could  not  carry  on  the  Indian  trade  by  sending  out  agents 
of  its  own,  hence  decided  to  put  the  traffic  in  the  hands  of 
men  already  skilled  in  the  service.  Otherwise  the  risk  and 
expense  were  too  great.  The  number  of  skins  obtained  in 
the  province  at  the  time  was  estimated  to  be  about  50,000 
annually,  exclusive  of  the  peltry  drawn  from  the  Sioux, 
Missouri  and  Illinois  Indians.5  Of  this  amount  the  natives 
on  the  Red  river,  the  Tonica  and  the  tribes  on  the  Arkan- 
sas furnished  1,000  deer  skins  each;  the  Yazou  and  Ossa- 
goulas  similarly  2,000,  of  a  very  good  quality;  the  Aliba- 
mon,  3,000;  the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw,  4,000  each;  the 
Talapouches,  5,000;  the  Abikas,  8,000,  and  the  other  tribes 
in  lower  Louisiana  smaller  amounts.6 

In  1727,  the  fur  trade  in  the  upper  part  of  the  province 

1  Supra,  p.  30. 

2  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  396-447. 
« Ibid.,  p.  518. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  505,  509,  513-514. 

6  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fols.  6-50. 

6  Ibid. 


349]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  349 

was  much  disturbed  by  wars  with  the  Fox.  Since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century  these  tribes  had  been  frequently  hos- 
tile to  the  French,  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  command- 
ant at  the  Illinois  post  that  there  would  be  no  end  to  the 
outbreaks  until  these  savages  had  been  annihilated.  A 
proposition  was  made  to  New  France  that  the  destruction 
be  undertaken  jointly,  but  the  plan  was  rejected  as  being 
too  hazardous,  since  the  Fox  were  a  very  fierce  and  warlike 
people.1  While  these  proposals  were  under  consideration, 
the  unjust  action  of  the  commandant  at  Fort  Rosalie,  by 
taking  their  lands  for  the  purpose  of  making  himself  a 
handsome  estate,  aroused  the  Natchez  2  in  turn  to  a  violent 
state  of  resentment.  They  attacked  and  came  near  de- 
stroying the  French  settlement  which  was  one  of  the  best 
trading  posts  in  lower  Louisiana.3 

The  English  were  as  quick  to  take  advantage  of  these 
Indian  outbreaks  as  the  French  had  been  in  1715.  From 
1721  onward  their  traders  among  the  Chickasaw  and  Choc- 
taw  had  been  increasing  year  by  year.  While  among  these 
tribes  they  had  been  encouraging  them  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  French,  and  by  way  of  influence  were  affording 
them  exceptional  trading  opportunities,  much  better  than 
the  French  could  offer.4  In  1726,  Carolina  exported  73,790 
deerskins  and  1,965  pounds  of  leather.5 

Five  years  later  the  French  share  in  the  western  fur  trade 
had  fallen  into  a  most  critical  condition.  In  1732,  a  Choc- 
taw  brought  the  news  that  English  traders  were  among  his 
people  with  fifty  horses  loaded  with  goods,  and  operating 

1  Rep.  and  Coll.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  iii,  pp.  161-165 ;  vol.  xvii,  p. 
69- 

2  Supra,  pp.  45,  88. 

3  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  pp.  230-231. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1',  vol.  vi,  fols.  146-147. 

5  Bancroft  Papers,  vol.  i,  pp.  1662-1679,  1726,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 


350  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [350 

in  an  area  thirty  leagues  in  extent.1  On  May  12,  the  pro- 
vincial officials  informed  the  home  government  that  they 
were  buying  up  all  the  deer  skins  the  Choctaw  offered,  so 
as  to  keep  these  Indians  from  becoming  allies  of  the  Eng- 
lish. From  January  I  to  March,  they  had  obtained  2,200 
skins  weighing  about  25,000  pounds  and  placed  them  in  the 
royal  storehouse  ready  for  shipment  to  France.  On  July 
1 8,  the  "  ordonnateur  "  sold  at  twenty-five  sols  a  pound 
deerskins  to  the  amount  of  5,082  pounds.  This  was  con- 
sidered a  good  bargain  since  many  of  the  skins  were  al- 
ready damaged  by  worms,  and  were  sure  to  depreciate  still 
more  were  they  allowed  to  remain  packed  away  in  the 
storehouse.2 

These  purchases  were  a  great  drain  on  the  colonial  treas- 
ury since  the  officials  were  obliged  to  pay  at  English  rates. 
On  July  24,  1733,  accordingly,  they  requested  the  home 
government  to  instruct  them  as  to  the  price,  in  munitions 
of  war  and  other  sorts  of  merchandise,  they  should  pay 
for  deer  skins,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  French  market 
for  them  was  very  poor.  Nevertheless  it  was  declared  to 
be  necessary  to  pay  good  prices  since  the  Choctaw  had 
deerskins  ready  for  the  market  and  the  Alibamon  had  de- 
clared that  they  could  secure  better  rates  from  the  English 
than  the  French.  The  crown  was  therefore  urged  to  secure 
the  trade  of  these  Indians  even  at  a  considerable  sacrifice.* 

The  next  year  the  officials  at  Mobile  secured  some  Eng- 
lish merchandise  from  a  vessel  trading  there  which  was 
used  to  great  advantage  in  dealing  with  the  Choctaw.  The 
English,  on  their  part,  tried  to  make  capital  out  of  the  inci- 
dent by  telling  the  savages  that  the  French  would  be  unable 

1  Bancroft  Papers,  vol.  i,  MSS.,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 
*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xv,  fols.  107,  174. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  163-164. 


35 1 ]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA 

to  supply  them  with  limbourg  unless  other  English  vessels 
brought  it  to  Mobile.  This  source  of  supply  was  very  un- 
likely since  the  provincial  government  of  Carolina  was 
going  to  make  such  a  trade  impossible.1  As  Carolina  did 
not  do  so,  the  English  in  the  Choctaw  country  were  unable 
to  make  this  prophecy  effective.  Besides  supplying  the 
French  with  limbourg  for  the  Indian  traffic  English  vessels 
also  gave  them  a  better  market  for  deerskins  than  France 
itself  offered.2 

During  the  last  year  of  the  control  of  Louisiana  by  the 
Company  of  the  Indies  the  traders  at  Mobile  had  been  fairly 
prosperous.  They  were  able  to  dispose  of  their  peltry  at 
twenty-five  sols  a  pound  and  on  the  merchandise  they  took 
in  exchange  they  made  a  profit  in  trading  it  to  the  natives 
of  from  20  to  50  per  cent.3  On  February  28,  1734,  from 
ten  to  12,000  deerskins  were  shipped  from  Mobile  to  for- 
eign markets.4  In  order  to  increase  this  trade,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  establish  a  French  post  among  the  Chickasaw. 
Such  an  establishment  would  serve  to  maintain  good  order 
on  the  part  of  the  French  trader  and  help  to  bring  those 
Indians  into  alliance.  It  was  claimed  that  dealers  from 
Mobile  were  carrying  to  the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  large 
quantities  of  English  goods.  This  traffic  the  officials  de- 
nounced on  the  ground  that  the  English  were  gaining  a 
profit  on  their  merchandise  and  at  the  same  time  were 
securing  at  first  hand  the  best  peltry  the  Chickasaw  had,  at 
thirty  sols  a  pound,  thereby  forcing  the  French  to  pay  the 
same  price  for  inferior  skins.  Moreover  it  was  claimed 
that  the  sale  of  English  goods  weakened  French  influence 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  E,  vol.  Ixi,  fol.  631. 
1  Force,  Tracts,  App.,  No.  5,  vol.  i,  pp.  45,  46,  49- 
*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  62-68. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  8-12. 


352  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [352 

correspondingly.1  The  commandant  at  Mobile  was  inter- 
ested personally  in  the  fur  traffic  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
require  a  legal  investigation  of  his  activities.  The  case  was 
carried  to  the  superior  council  where  it  was  decided  against 
that  officer,  who  thereupon  was  ordered  to  reimburse  the 
Company  for  the  damages  caused  by  his  dealings.2 

The  difficulty  in  holding  the  Choctaw  as  allies  was  per- 
haps somewhat  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  Chickasaw,  yet 
the  trade  and  friendship  of  those  tribes  cost  heavily  in 
presents.3  The  French  tried  to  make  the  Choctaw  believe 
there  was  an  advantage  in  dealing  with  them  which  could 
not  be  gained  in  trade  with  the  English.  The  facts  of  the 
matter  scarcely  bore  out  the  French  assertion,  a  circum- 
stance that  the  Indians  were  quite  clever  enough  to  discern.4 
The  French  were  giving  five  quarters  of  limbourg  for  five 
large  or  ten  medium-sized  deer  skins,  and  a  gun  for  ten 
large  or  twenty  medium-sized  pelts,  which  price,  the  French 
asserted,  could  not  be  gotten  from  the  English.  Whether 
this  statement  was  true  or  false  matters  little;  the  Indians 
knew  that  such  rates  could  be  maintained  only  by  having 
the  English  as  competitors  and  accordingly  were  not  anx- 
ious for  either  rival  to  be  driven  from  the  trade.5 

On  July  4,  1734,  the  English  were  at  Mobile  buying  up 
deer  skins.6  The  inhabitants  encouraged  this  traffic  since 
by  it  they  were  able  to  pay  English  prices  for  peltry  with 
much  more  ease.  By  it  also  they  had  been  able  to  secure 
the  greater  part  of  the  Choctaw  trade  and  of  many  of  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  138-141. 

J  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fol.  33. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  177-178. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  95-96. 

&Ibid. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fol.  205. 


353]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  353 

Creek  as  well,  who  informed  the  Carolinians  among  them 
that  they  could  procure  all  the  English  goods  they  wanted 
from  the  French.1  In  order  to  drive  the  English  dealers 
from  the  Choctaw  trade  entirely  the  French,  in  1736,  built 
Fort  Tombecbee.2 

Returning  to  the  Illinois  country,  in  1730,  it  was  said 
that  i  oo  men  could  be  found  there  able  to  bear  arms.  This 
number  was  increased  at  certain  times  of  the  year  by  as 
many  as  200  on  their  way  back  from  their  annual  hunting 
trips  among  the  surrounding  tribes.3  This  number,  how- 
ever, the  English  authorities  placed  at  500,*  some  of  whom 
dealt  with  the  natives  on  the  Missouri  where  they  had 
caused  much  trouble  by  the  licentious  habits  they  practiced.5 

About  this  time  also  it  was  asserted  of  the  Illinois  trade 
that  it  would  be  benefited  by  the  establishment  of  a  French 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.6  The  Illinois  themselves 
were  the  firm  friends  of  the  French  with  whom  they  had 
been  on  good  terms  since  the  latter  took  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Moreover  they  had  not  only  assisted  in 
driving  back  the  Iroquois  and  Fox,  but  had  aided  in  the 
war  against  the  Chickasaw,  Cherokee  and  Natchez.1 

In  1735,  again,  the  French  and  Illinois  Indians  were  at 
war  with  the  Fox.8  This  hostility  considerably  disturbed 
the  trade  with  the  Sioux,  yet  in  1735  the  French  were  able 

1  Coll.  Ga.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  p.  319 ;  Force,  Tracts,  App.,  No.  5,  vol. 
i,  pp.  45,  46,  49. 

2  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  ii,  p.  255 ;  supra,  p.  25. 
J  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  Fs,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  235-241. 

*  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xvi,  p.  390. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  235-241.  6  Ibid. 

7  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,   fols.   178-188,   193,  227;   Rep.  and  Coll. 
St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol.  xvii,  pp.  179-181,  213. 

8  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  570-571 ;  Rep.  and  Coll.  St.  Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  vol. 
xvii,  pp.  183-185. 


354  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [354 

to  buy  from  them  100,000  beautiful  beaver  skins.1  The 
next  year  the  quantity  of  pelts  secured  from  that  source 
was  considerably  reduced  by  unfriendliness  on  the  part  of 
the  Sioux  themselves.  The  danger  involved  in  a  trade  with 
these  tribes  was  at  the  time  too  great  even  for  the  venture- 
some Frenchmen  to  attempt.2  Traffic  with  the  other  tribes 
about  the  Illinois  country  was  fairly  normal,  consequently 
the  annual  shipments  were  made  as  usual  to  New  Orleans.3 
The  carrying  of  the  peltry  to  the  capital  was  relieved  of 
attacks  from  the  Natchez  Indians  who  had  now  been  prac- 
tically destroyed;  but  the  danger  from  the  Chickasaw  was 
still  very  formidable.4 

The  natives  of  the  lower  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley, 
in  1735,  were  securing  such  good  prices  for  their  peltry  that 
the  French  traders  were  unable  to  make  any  profit  unless 
they  gave  limbourg  in  exchange.  For  an  ell  and  a  half  of 
this  cloth  costing  fifteen  livres,  English  price,  they  received 
five  large  or  ten  medium-sized  deerskins.6 

The  French  also  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the 
Alibamon  whereby  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  settle  among 
them  provided  the  traders  would  pay  the  same  prices  for 
peltry  as  the  English  did  and  in  accordance  with  the  latter's 
method  of  classifying  deerskins.  Hides  of  the  first  class 
were  to  weigh  not  less  than  two  pounds;  those  of  the  sec- 
ond, twenty  ounces,  or  less  than  two  pounds,  and  those 
of  the  third  class  under  twenty  ounces;  the  first  class 
equaling  two  of  the  second  and  three  of  the  third.  Few  of 
the  last-named  were  accepted  because  of  their  inferior  qual- 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  574. 
1  Ibid.,  pp.  574-575- 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xx,  fols.  85-91 J  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  608. 

4  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xix,  p.  153. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xx,  fols.  25-27. 


355]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA 

ity.  An  ell  and  a  half  of  limbourg  costing  twelve  livres 
was  to  be  exchanged  for  five  large  skins  or  an  equivalent 
number  of  the  smaller  sizes.  In  the  English  market  these 
would  bring  fifteen  livres,1  thereby  netting  the  trader  three. 
A  gun  worth  eleven  livres  would  sell  for  ten  deerskins,  and 
a  shirt  worth  three  livres  for  two.  Were  such  prices  to  be 
paid  by  the  French  their  profits  would  be  very  small  in- 
deed. Moreover  it  was  claimed  that  since  the  English  re- 
ceived most  of  the  large  skins  the  French  had  to  buy  second 
grade  pelts  at  almost  the  same  rate  as  that  the  English  paid 
for  those  of  the  best  grade.2  However  many  of  the  skins 
collected  by  the  French  indirectly  passed  to  the  English 
markets.  On  August  25,  1735,  5,000  deer  skins  were  sold 
at  Mobile  to  one  English  trader  alone.3 

As  already  observed,4  the  English  had  not  always  treated 
the  Indians  fairly,  hence  in  1734  a  deputation  of  natives 
went  with  Governor  Oglethorpe  of  Georgia  to  England  to 
arrange  a  treaty  that  would  fix  the  weight  and  prices  of 
English  goods,  and  for  an  understanding  that  no  more  than 
one  storehouse  should  be  permitted  in  a  village.5  The  Eng- 
lish trade  with  the  western  savages,  nevertheless,  prospered. 
In  1735,  about  100,000  pounds  of  pelts  were  collected  at 
Augusta  alone.6  Forty  miles  from  the  French  post  of  Tou- 
louse the  English  now  had  a  garrison  beyond  which  the 
traders  of  the  former  could  not  pass  without  arousing  Eng- 
lish hostility.7  The  fact  did  not  prevent  those  of  the  latter 
from  passing  beyond  the  Fort  Toulouse  limit. 

1  Supra,  p.  352. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  145-149- 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13   vol.  xx,  fols.  160-167. 
4  Supra,  p.  343. 

*  Force,  Tracts:  An  Account  Showing  the  Progress  of  the  Colony  of 
Georgia,  etc.,  vol.  i,  p.  15. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  6;  Coll  Go.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  i,  p.  179- 
7  Coll  Go.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  i,  p.  182. 


256  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [-556 

Therefore  the  trade  of  Augusta,  in  1736  alone,  required 
the  use  of  five  large  boats  to  take  the  peltry  to  Savannah. 
These  boats  were  able  to  carry  about  9,000  pounds  of  deer 
skins  and  each  boat  made  annually  four  or  five  voyages  to 
the  coast  with  a  cargo  worth  between  £1,200  and  £1,500 
sterling.1  In  1739,  it  was  stated  that  the  traders,  pack- 
horse  men,  servants,  townsmen  and  other  persons  living  on 
the  fur  trade  from  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  and  center- 
ing their  activities  at  Augusta,  numbered  about  600.  Each 
hunter,  it  was  asserted,  furnished  the  market  annually  with 
about  300  pounds  of  skins  that  had  been  given  in  exchange 
for  woolen  goods  and  ironware.2 

There  were  other  traders  who  only  passed  through  Au- 
gusta on  their  way  to  the  Creek.  In  1741,  there  were  forty- 
six  of  them,  along  with  305  pack-horses,  employed  in  traffic 
with  the  Creek  and  Chickasaw.3  Up  to  this  time  Augusta 
was  considered  the  key  to  the  Creek,  Cherokee  and  Chick- 
asaw trade,  although  not  more  than  500  horses  were  em- 
ployed in  it.  At  this  time  as  many  of  the  traders  set  out 
from  New  Winsor,  South  Carolina,  as  from  Augusta.  At 
the  latter  place  there  were  but  three  trading  houses  and 
everything  was  in  a  languishing  condition  due  to  the  poor 
system  of  regulation.* 

During  these  years  the  French  on  their  part  had  not  been 
inactive.  In  September,  1736,  7,000  ells  of  limbourg  were 
required  for  the  trade.  The  home  government  was  re- 
quested to  send  only  the  blue  and  red  varieties;  3,000  ells 
of  the  former  and  4,000  of  the  latter,  but  none  of  the  black 
and  white  since  it  could  be  used  for  the  negroes  only.  This 

1  Coll.  Ga.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  i,  p.  179;  Force,  Tracts:  An  Account,  etc., 
vol.  i,  p.  6. 

2  Coll.  Ga.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  i,  p.  179;  Force,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  6. 

3  Coll.  Ga.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  p.  124. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  p.  179;  vol.  ii,  p.  126. 


357]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  357 

amount  of  cloth,  is  was  claimed,  would  enable  the  traders 
to  net  an  annual  profit  of  between  150  and  200  livres.1 
9,000  deerskins  left  Louisiana  in  1738  by  one  vessel  alone,* 
and  the  next  year  about  50,000  such  pelts  were  procured 
in  exchange  for  bullets,  powder,  guns,  flints,  blankets,  ver- 
million,  mirrors  and  hardware.3 

In  June,  1740,  it  was  asserted  by  the  English  that  the 
French  traders  among  the  natives  were  urging  the  savages 
to  kill  their  English  rivals  and  to  carry  away  their  merchan- 
dise. A  proposition  like  this  was  no  doubt  tempting  to  the 
Indians,  since  the  English  were  sending  into  the  interior 
large  pack-horse  trains  heavily  loaded  with  all  kinds  of 
goods.*  The  French  were  unable  to  make  an  impression 
upon  the  Cherokee ;  hence  they  determined  that  if  the  tribes 
could  not  be  brought  over  wholly  or  mainly  to  the  French 
side,  they  would  endeavor  to  destroy  them.  They  met  with 
small  success  in  this  undertaking,  however,  because  the 
Cherokee  could  easily  secure  from  the  English  what  ammu- 
nition they  needed  for  defense.5  With  most  of  the  tribes 
French  influence  was  on  the  increase.  It  was  strong  among 
the  Creek.  The  Alibamon  were  entirely  under  French  con- 
trol, whereas  the  Choctaw  were  trading  with  both  the 
French  and  English,  though  with  their  affections  thrown 
into  the  balance  against  the  latter." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  1 744,  Louisiana  obtained 
about  100,000  deer  skins7  as  well  as  many  buffalo,  kid, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  111-113. 

2  Ibid,,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  195-196. 

3  A.,  B.  de  VA.,  vol.  4817,  fols.  193-109. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C"18,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  111-113. 
6  Coll  Go.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  i,  p.  180. 

•  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xx,  p.  288. 

T  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  3S-3& 


358  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [358 

otter  and  beaver  skins  for  which  the  French  traders  gave 
in  exchange  guns,  powder,  bullets,  knives,  needles,  razors, 
vermillion,  woolen  goods,  ribbons,  blankets,  shirts,  blue  and 
red  limbourg  and  brandy  well  mixed  with  water.1  At  the 
same  time  the  English  were  exporting  about  100,000  hogs- 
heads (800  or  900  Ibs.  each)  of  skins  a  year,  for  which 
they  were  receiving  sixteen  shilling,  nine  pence  a  pound.2 

After  hostilities  had  started  the  French  were  unable  to 
provide  the  traders  with  European  goods  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  carry  on  their  business  successfully.  Moreover  the 
French  prices  for  peltry  decreased  by  three-fifths  of  their 
former  value  while  English  prices  advanced.  A  deer  skin 
would  sell  in  England  for  five  livres  while  in  France  one 
of  the  same  quality  would  bring  but  two.  Then,  too,  Eng- 
lish goods  were  of  much  better  quality  than  those  imported 
from  France.  The  English  traders,  however,  were  not 
satisfied  with  this  difference  in  price  alone.  As  a  means 
of  promoting  their  operations,  they  began  to  imitate  the 
French  traders  in  their  liking  for  Indian  girls  and  to  eat 
and  drink  with  the  natives  in  a  most  friendly  and  familiar 
fashion.  This  kind  of  sociability  coupled  with  tempting 
prices  won  many  new  allies,  some  of  whom  maltreated  and 
in  some  cases  killed  the  French  traders.  The  French  on 
their  part  claimed  that  the  "  insinuating  "  English  were  un- 
able to  gain  the  real  affection  of  the  Indians  who  instead 
secretly  hated  them.  This  deep-seated  dislike  for  the  Eng- 
lish the  French  claimed  made  it  impossible  for  many  of 
the  natives  to  abandon  the  latter  completely.3 

The  French  had  still  another  sort  of  hold  on  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  savages  of  the  lower  Mississippi  valley.  French 
powder  was  more  easily  obtainable  and  of  a  quality  quite 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  1744,  p.  n. 
3  The  S.  C.  Gazette,  Jan.  6-Nov.  26,  1744. 
»  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  24-27. 


359]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA 

superior  to  that  provided  by  the  English.  The  latter  at- 
tempted to  offset  French  powder  and  lead  with  English 
rum,  making  the  Indians  crazed  and  turning  their  fury 
against  their  opponents.  While  the  Indians  were  drunk 
they  fought  among  themselves  and  with  the  French  sol- 
diers and  missionaries  whose  houses  they  attempted  to 
enter  and  pillage.  In  forcing  the  savages  back  the  French 
were  often  wounded  and  some  of  them  were  killed.  Dur- 
ing these  drunken  bouts  the  English  traders  secured  all  the 
peltry  the  Indians  had  collected  and  at  times  actually  bought 
up  the  next  year's  assortment  on  the  basis  of  credit  for 
rum.  Credit  of  this  sort,  however,  was  not  forthcoming 
where  the  trade  of  a  particular  tribe  was  negligible.  For 
example,  the  Alibamon  complained  that  the  English  fur- 
nished rum  to  the  Choctaw  but  refused  to  advance  it  to 
them.  The  French  tried  to  show  them  the  evil  wrought  by 
English  rum,  at  the  same  time  endeavoring  to  establish 
among  them  trade  in  merchandise  of  a  more  useful  sort.1 

The  external  difficulties  that  stood  in  the  way  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  French  fur  traffic  were  very  little  less 
formidable  than  the  internal  obstacles.  The  trade  was 
hampered  by  the  excessive  number  and  by  the  low  character 
and  ability  of  many  of  the  men  engaged  in  it.  All  sorts  of 
persons  had  gone  into  the  business.  These  circumstances 
created  dissensions  among  the  savages  most  prejudicial  to 
the  building-up  of  a  flourishing  trade.  Crimes  were  com- 
mitted that  often  involved  the  Indians  in  actual  war  with 
the  provincial  government.  Such  disorders  were  especially 
pronounced  among  the  Indians  on  the  Missouri.  The  ex- 
cessive number  of  the  traders,  also,  led  each  of  them  to  pro- 
mote his  individual  advantage  at  the  expense  of  his  fel- 
lows. As  a  result  each  tried  to  undersell  his  rival,  and 

M.  A".,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  24-27. 


360  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [360 

some  even  resorted  to  buying  peltry  in  advance,  hoping 
thereby  to  force  others  out  of  the  field.  The  whole  trade 
on  the  upper  Missouri  and  Mississippi  was  in  a  fair  way  to 
ruin.1 

In  order  to  improve  matters  it  was  proposed  to  assign 
boundaries  to  Louisiana,  or  to  form  a  company  composed 
of  twenty  of  the  best  men  of  the  province  who  should  take 
over  for  a  stated  number  of  years  the  entire  control  of  the 
fur  trade.  Some  such  an  arrangement,  it  was  believed, 
would  be  for  the  general  good  of  the  province  and  would 
at  the  same  time  increase  the  output  of  peltry  by  at  least 
600  packs  a  year.2  Neither  of  these  schemes  was  adopted ; 
instead,  action  was  taken  to  have  the  traders  kept  in  check 
by  placing  the  officials  of  outlying  posts  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Illinois  commandant  in  all  matters  relating  to 
the  fur  trade.3 

During  the  years  of  the  war,  1744-1748,  notwithstanding 
the  shortage  in  French  goods  the  fur  trade  of  Louisiana 
was  by  no  means  destroyed.  At  this  time  it  was  estimated 
that  there  were  1,600  Frenchmen  engaged  in  it.*  However 
generous  this  estimate,  each  year  large  quantities  of  skins 
were  sent  down  to  New  Orleans.  In  1745,  the  value  of 
furs  at  the  capital  was  given  as  9,621  livres.5  As  it  was 
difficult  for  the  governor  to  supply  the  Indians  with  their 
usual  presents,  in  1746  the  Choctaw  and  Creek  were  im- 
patient concerning  the  delay  and  the  Choctaw  that  year 
made  a  special  visit  to  Mobile  for  them.  In  1749,  the  gifts 
to  these  savages  cost  62,000  livres.6  Although  the  French 

1  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  82-85,  224-232;  vol.  xix,  fols. 
82-83. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  224-232 ;  vol.  xxix,  fols.  82-83. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  85-86.  4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  268. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fols.  109-111;  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  222-227. 
•  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  49-52. 


361]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  $61 

had  been  at  great  pains  to  win  the  trade  of  the  Choctaw  and 
Creeks  the  shortage  of  presents  during  the  war  had  caused 
them  to  share  the  traffic  with  the  English.1 

The  disorder  caused  by  the  dissolute  habits  of  some  of 
the  French  traders  continued  throughout  the  war.  Gov- 
ernor Vaudreuil,  in  1747,  undertook  to  suppress  the  dis- 
turbances in  the  Illinois  country  and  at  Natchitoches,  but 
his  efforts  met  with  small  success.2  Between  New  Orleans 
and  the  Illinois  country,  furthermore,  the  fur  trade  was 
greatly  impeded  on  account  of  attacks  made  on  the  convoys 
by  hostile  Chickasaw.3  In  fact  it  became  necessary  to  keep 
men  on  guard  day  and  night  to  repulse  them.4 

With  the  restoration  of  peace  came  renewed  effort  from 
both  the  French  and  English  to  secure  possession  of  the 
whole  of  the  Indian  trade  of  the  lower  Mississippi  valley, 
each  stimulated  by  the  aggression  of  the  other.5  In  1751, 
the  Carolinians  were  among  the  Alibamon  ready  to  stir  up 
trouble.8  The  French  on  their  part  were  inclined  to  allow 
the  natives  to  deal  with  both  English  and  French  traders, 
because  of  the  difference  in  the  kinds  of  peltry  sought,  but 
the  English  were  not  satisfied  with  any  such  arrangement. 
The  latter  claimed  as  allies  all  the  tribes  of  the  southwest 
and  hoped  to  unite  them  with  the  Iroquois  in  a  supreme 
effort  to  seize  the  fur  trade  entire.  They  claimed  that  the 
French  were  busy  among  the  Indians  under  English  influ- 
ence trying  to  establish  storehouses,  or  in  reality  forts,  and 
offering  to  pay  well  for  English  scalps.7  Yet  despite  this 

1  Coll.  S.  C.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  p.  294. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  47-48. 

'  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  116. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  F*,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  361-371. 

•  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvii,  fol.  68. 

•  J  es.  Rel.,  vol.  Ixix,  p.  205. 

1  Doc.  Rel.  Col.  Hist.  N.  ¥.,  vol.  vi,  pp.  709-710. 


362  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [362 

rivalry  the  trade  had  advanced  considerably  since  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  by  1752  the  supply  of  peltry  increased  ac- 
cordingly.1 

The  fur  traffic  in  the  portion  of  Louisiana  drained  by 
the  Missouri  and  its  branches  was  placed  under  the  monopo- 
listic control  of  Deruisseau.2  The  new  official  was  not  able 
to  end  the  trouble  created  by  the  traders  among  the  Indians 
there,  corrupting  the  savages  by  their  evil  ways,  stealing 
and  carrying  away  the  Indian  girls.  The  excesses  of  these 
men  even  had  gone  so  far  as  to  provoke  the  natives  into  de- 
stroying the  French  post,  Fort  Orleans,  upon  the  upper 
Missouri.  Besides  their  own  misdeeds  the  Frenchmen  de- 
frauded the  natives  most  shamefully.  For  example,  for 
1,000  crowns  worth  of  fine  beaver  skins  they  paid  a  small 
amount  of  powder  which  they  told  the  Indians  was  a  new 
variety  that,  if  planted,  would  produce  all  the  powder  they 
would  want.  As  soon  as  the  natives  discovered  that  they 
had  been  defrauded  they  were  infuriated  against  the  French 
in  general,  believing  them  in  sympathy  with  the  behavior 
of  the  traders.3 

When  hostilities  with  England  began  again  in  1754,  Gov- 
ernor Kerlerec  was  greatly  in  need  of  merchandise  for  the 
traffic,  hence  could  not  give  the  Indians  their  usual  presents. 
Failing  to  receive  them,  the  savages  threatened  to  call  in  the 
English.4  Later  in  the  year,  when  the  governor  was  able 
to  distribute  gifts  to  the  value  of  62,000  Hvres  he  succeeded 
for  a  while  in  allaying  the  discontent.5  In  return  for  this 
expenditure  the  French  received  a  quantity  of  peltry  worth 
30,000  Hvres  and  were  able  to  keep  the  Choctaw  faithful.6 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  166-168;  vol.  xxxvi,  pp.  269-275. 

2  Gayarre,  Hist,  of  La.,  vol.  ii,  p.  23.         Bossu,  vol.  i,  pp.  145-149. 

4  Gayarre,  Hist  of  La.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  73-74- 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xxxvii,  fols.  164-174. 
0  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12424,  fol.  341. 


363]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA  363 

From  Fort  Tombecbee  the  French  made  strenuous  en- 
deavors to  hold  as  allies  not  only  the  Choctaw  but  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  Chickasaw.1  Five  of  the  Creek  towns 
also,  it  was  claimed,  were  entirely  under  French  control.2 
At  all  events  when,  in  1756,  the  Cherokee  asked  the  Creek 
to  join  them  in  a  war  with  the  English  against  the  French, 
they  met  with  a  refusal.  This  shows  that  two  years  after 
the  opening  of  the  war  the  French  at  least  could  still 
count  on  Creek  neutrality.  This  stand  on  the  part  of  the 
Creeks,  the  English  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  Indians 
intended  to  play  off  the  two  Europeans  against  each  other 
and  to  receive  presents  from  both.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
the  governor  of  South  Carolina  that  if  the  Creek  were 
forced  out  of  their  neutrality,  they  would  take  sides  with 
the  one  they  deemed  the  stronger.3  South  Carolina  had 
already  secured  itself  on  the  northeast  against  attacks  from 
the  French  by  treaties  with  the  Cherokee  and  Catawba.4 
By  October,  1758,  however,  it  seems  they  had  lost  some 
of  the  Cherokee,  for  according  to  the  governor  "the  Chero- 
kee, Creek  and  other  of  the  southern  Indians  who  came  to 
Charleston  last  winter  and  early  in  the  spring  under  the 
pretense  of  joining  us  in  the  war  against  the  French;  as 
soon  as  they  had  secured  from  us  everything  they  could 
expect,  by  all  the  art  they  were  masters  of,  left  us  without 
the  least  remorse  when  they  found  they  were  not  likely  to 
get  any  more  presents.  I  am  now  left  with  about  fifty  In- 
dians." 5 

Governor  Kerlerec  certainly  did  well  in  the  management 

1  Bossu,  vol.  i,  pp.  278-279;  Pownall,  App.,  p.  22. 

J  Bancroft  Papers,  1 755- 1757,  N.  Y.  Pub.  Lib. 

•  Ibid.,  Dec.  25,  1756;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxix,  fols.  84-98. 

4  The  Va.  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  225-226. 

5  Bancroft  Papers,  Jan.,  1758-Dec.,  1760. 


364  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [364 

of  the  Indian  trade  during  such  trying  times.  The  year 
1757  opened  with  all  of  the  royal  storehouses  empty,  noth- 
ing in  the  hands  of  private  merchants  suitable  for  the 
traffic  and  presents  to  the  Choctaw  and  Alibamon  lacking. r 
As  the  war  progressed  it  became  constantly  more  difficult 
for  the  governor  to  placate  the  natives  with  the  customary 
gifts.  As  a  result  the  Alibamon,  in  1759,  were  trading  in- 
differently with  the  French,  Spanish  and  English,  though 
they  liked  the  Spanish  least  and  called  them  cruel.2  In 
1760,  the  French  were  still  on  the  Tennessee  river  dealing 
with  the  Cherokee  under  an  assurance  that  the  post  on  that 
river  had  been  established  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  sup- 
plies to  them.  The  English  on  their  part  declared  that  the 
French  succeeded  quite  well  in  amusing  and  deceiving  the 
natives,  while  other  compatriots  of  theirs  were  carrying  on 
hostilities  against  the  Carolinians.3  By  1761,  the  governor 
was  indeed  in  a  difficult  position.  He  asserted  the  "  Choc- 
taw  and  Alibamon  harass  us  daily  to  have  supplies  and 
merchandise.  They  threaten  to  go  over  to  the  English,  if 
we  cannot  relieve  them,  and,  in  the  meantime,  by  their  fre- 
quent visits  they  devour  the  little  that  remains  of  our  pro- 
visions and  exhaust  our  meager  stock  of  merchandise.  We 
have  just  ground  to  fear  and  expect  hostility  from  them. 
Therefore  our  situation  is  not  tenable,  and  the  whole  popu- 
lation is  in  a  state  of  keen  anxiety."  * 

A  year  later,  June  24,  1762,  Kerlerec  informed  the  home 
government  that  the  ships  from  France  "  brought  none  of 
the  articles  we  wanted  most  and  hardly  any  of  the  things 
in  the  invoice.  What  they  have  brought  is  either  not  to  the 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxix,  fols.  258-259. 
*  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  256. 

1  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  1716-1763,  vol.  xxix,  p.  2. 
4  Gayarre,  La. :  Its  Hist.,  etc.,  p.  89. 


365]  THE  FUR  TRADE  OF  LOUISIANA 

taste  of  the  Indians,  or  is  so  inferior  or  bad  quality,  that 
it  is  without  value.  I  am  therefore  under  the  shameful  and 
humiliating  necessity  of  not  keeping  my  plighted  faith  to 
the  savages.  What  shall  I  do  with  these  Indian  tribes  I 
had  convened,  under  the  expectation  of  the  supplies  which 
I  was  led  to  believe  would  be  at  hand?  What  will  be  their 
feelings?  How  shall  I  keep  them  quiet?  I  am  in  a  fright- 
ful position.  Is  the  province  of  Louisiana  destined  to  be 
the  sport  of  cupidity  and  avarice  "  ?  * 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  war  the  conditions  in 
the  Illinois  country  were  less  critical.  Since  the  beginning 
of  hostilities  the  demand  on  Fort  Chartres  for  men  and 
material  aid  had  been  frequent  and  pressing.  As  has  been 
shown  the  commandant  of  that  post  labored  to  meet  them, 
sending  quantities  of  supplies  both  to  New  France  and  to 
lower  Louisiana.  At  the  end  of  the  struggle  the  fur  trade 
of  this  part  of  the  province  was  still  intact  and  even  grow- 
ing. In  1762,  "  Maxent,  Laclede  and  Company"  of  New 
Orleans  received  a  permit  from  Governor  Kerlerec  to  es- 
tablish trading  operations  on  the  Missouri  river.  The 
next  year  the  Company  sent  one  of  the  members  of  the 
firm  to  the  Illinois  country  to  select  a  site  and  establish  a 
base  of  operation  for  the  trade.  Around  this  trading  post 
later  grew  the  city  of  St.  Louis.2 

In  their  struggle  for  the  control  of  the  fur  trade  of 
Louisiana  the  French  and  English  employed  practically  the 
same  methods,  some  devised  by  the  former,  others  by  the 
latter.  Neither  was  slow  to  adopt  the  good  points  in  the 
activities  of  the  other.  The  English,  however,  had  better 
support  from  the  mother  country  and  were  always  well  pro- 

1  Gayarre,  op.  cit.,  p.  91. 

2  Trans.  III.  St.  Hist.  Soc.,  pt.  8,  p.  in ;  Mag.  West.  Hist.,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
303-305 ;  supra,  p.  300. 


366  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [366 

vided  with  Indian  goods  and  presents  when  needed.  This 
advantage  was  unsurmountable,  for  an  Indian's  friendship 
could  be  held  in  such  a  fashion.  Had  each  of  the  con- 
testants been  furnished  with  the  same  quantity  and  quality 
of  merchandise,  the  results  might  have  been  different.  At 
any  rate  the  English  would  have  found  in  the  French  a 
much  more  powerful  rival  than  was  actually  the  case. 


CHAPTER  XX 
TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES 

THE  advantages  of  commerce  between  Louisiana  and  the 
French  West  Indies  were  early  taken  into  consideration. 
Father  Hennepin,  in  1683,  prophesied  that  in  a  short  time 
the  province  could  supply  the  islands  "  with  bread,  wine 
and  meat ".  The  French  filibusters  and  buccaneers,  he 
added,  would  be  able  to  kill  more  wild  cattle  in  Louisiana 
than  in  their  existing  haunts.1  This  intercolonial  trade 
began  in  1700  when  Iberville  bought  at  St.  Domingue 
goats,  hogs  and  many  kinds  of  useful  plants  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  settlement  on  Biloxi  Bay.2  The  next  item 
recorded  seems  to  be  that  of  1703,  when  Iberville  intimated 
to  the  home  government  that  sugar  for  Louisiana  should  be 
carried  to  the  colony  from  St.  Domingue  instead  of  di- 
rectly from  France,  thereby  saving  one-fifth  of  the  freight 
charges.3  On  this  suggestion  no  comment  was  made.  How- 
ever, Iberville  was  informed  the  royal  vessels  were  not  ex- 
pected to  carry  European  goods  from  Louisiana  to  the 
islands  but  instead  the  cargoes  were  to  be  made  up  of  lum- 
ber and  other  products  of  the  colony.4 

For  a  time  such  articles  were  very  scarce.  Lack  of 
funds,  also,  made  it  necessary  to  send  to  the  islands  for 
supplies.  In  September,  1705,  a  filibuster's  ship  from 

1  Hennepin,  A  Description  of  La.,  p.  151. 
1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  376. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  625. 
4  Ibid.,  p.  623. 

367]  367 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [368 

Martinique,  evidently  directed  toward  Louisiana,  was 
wrecked,  causing  a  loss  of  ninety  persons  and  72,00x3  pias- 
tres.1 Two  years  later  a  boat  laden  with  supplies  from  the 
West  Indies  reached  the  province  and  brought  the  news 
of  the  death  of  Iberville.2  Louisiana  at  this  time  was  in 
most  straitened  circumstances;  hence  in  order  to  tide  it 
over  Bienville  borrowed  2,000  piastres  from  a  merchant  of 
Martinique.3  So  far  the  province  had  made  its  appeal  for 
succor  only  to  St.  Domingue.4  Such  were  the  faint  begin- 
nings of  commerce  with  the  French  islands. 

In  1708,  the  Louisiana  officials  proposed  to  attempt 
building  up  trade  by  means  of  ship  timber;  but  when  the 
captain  of  a  vessel  from  Cape  Frangais  brought  to  the  prov- 
ince a  cargo  of  island  merchandise  he  found  no  such  ma- 
terial on  hand  and  a  poor  market  for  his  goods  besides.  In 
time,  however,  he  disposed  of  the  cargo  and  was  entrusted 
with  a  commission  to  procure  and  bring  thither  a  dozen  or 
more  mares.5  His  experience  seems  not  to  have  discour- 
aged others,  for  in  1710  a  boat  from  Martinique  was  at 
Dauphin  Island  with  foodstuffs.6  As  a  rule  the  officials  of 
both  Martinique  and  St.  Domingue  had  not  been  favorable 
to  provisioning  the  continental  province.  They  already  had 
become  fearful  lest  the  better  soil  and  climate  of  Louisiana 
should  draw  thither  the  more  ambitious  and  prosperous  in- 
habitants of  the  islands,  and  accordingly  were  unwilling  to 
furnish  such  things  as  would  aid  in  the  growth  of  that 
colony.  Even  in  1712  the  officials  of  Louisiana  were  unable 
to  procure  wheat  for  sowing.7 

1  La  Harpe,  pp.  93,  97- 

J  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  ii,  fols.  5-32.  3  Ibid. 

4  Villiers  du  Terrage,  p.  7. 

•  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  ii,  fols.  356-362,  427-438. 

6  Ibid.,  fols.  567,  641. 

T  Ibid.,  fols.  803-809. 


369]         TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          360 

The  Crozat  regime  scarcely  had  been  established  when 
the  few  vessels  from  the  islands  ceased  to  appear.  With 
their  captains  the  settlers  of  Louisiana  had  been  accustomed 
to  exchange  peltry  and  a  little  lumber  for  sugar,  tobacco, 
cocoa,  molasses  and  other  island  products  as  well  as  for 
European  goods,  which  were  often  long  delayed  if  brought 
directly  from  France.  The  checking  of  this  trade  greatly 
disturbed  the  people  of  the  province  who  almost  from  the 
beginning  were  more  or  less  hostile  to  Crozat's  agents.1 
They  believed  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  found- 
ing of  the  colony  was  trade  with  the  islands,  and  hence 
strongly  opposed  interference  from  the  new  officials  who 
wished  to  manage  it  solely  in  the  interests  of  the  proprietary 
himself.2 

Du  Clos,  on  his  arrival  as  "  ordonnateur  ",  took  sides 
with  the  Bienville  faction  upholding  the  cause  of  the  colo- 
nists, and  accordingly  was  soon  at  loggerheads  with  Gov- 
ernor Cadillac.  Early  in  his  term  of  office,  also,  he  pro- 
posed the  establishment  of  an  exchange  of  lumber  for 
tobacco,  brandy,  molasses  and  other  island  products,  es- 
pecially with  St.  Domingue  and  Martinique,  where  Euro- 
pean merchandise  could  be  obtained  quite  as  satisfactorily 
as  from  France  itself.3  This  trade,  he  claimed,  would  pro- 
mote the  growth  of  Louisiana  and  put  a  formidable  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  English  colonial  expansion.  To  this 
end  it  was  suggested  that  boats  be  sent  to  the  islands  three 
times  a  year  with  local  products  with  which  to  buy  domestic 
animals.  The  latter  were  to  be  sold  at  a  fixed  and  moderate 
price  to  the  inhabitants  directly,  and  not  through  the  Crozat 
agents  who  were  apt  to  dispose  of  them  at  very  high  rates, 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  Hi,  fols.  212-213;  Charlevoix,  Hist,  and  Gen. 
Des.  N.  Fr.,  vol.  vi,  pp.  32-34. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  122 ;  Coll.  La.  Hist.  Soc.,  pt.  3,  pp.  39-44. 
*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  iii,  fols.  97-107,  209-310. 


370  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [-570 

while  receiving  substantial  profits  from  the  peltry  and  other 
goods  taken  locally  in  exchange.1 

Commerce  of  this  sort  would  be  a  violation  of  the  pro- 
prietary rights,  and,  unless  approved  officially,  would  have 
to  be  carried  on  clandestinely.  In  September,  1714,  it 
seems,  a  vessel  bearing  a  permit  from  the  governor  of  St. 
Domingue  came  to  Mobile  for  "  repairs  "  after  encounter- 
ing a  storm.  There  is  no  record  of  any  trading  trans- 
actions, but  "  disabled  by  storm  "  was  so  common  a  pre- 
text for  illicit  traffic  that  the  statement  at  once  makes  one 
suspicious.2  Commercial  disputes  yearly  widened  the  breach 
between  the  Louisiana  settlers  and  the  Crozat  agents,  and 
in  1715  the  crown  sent  out  instructions  to  the  governor  and 
"  ordonnateur "  in  connection  with  the  purchase  of  do- 
mestic animals  which  were  to  be  sold  to  the  colonists  at 
moderate  prices.3 

The  next  year  a  brigantine  came  to  the  province  from 
Martinique.  The  governor  would  not  allow  it  to  do  any 
trading.*  This  act  increased  the  popular  ill-will  because  of 
the  great  need  at  the  time  of  foodstuffs.  Early  in  1716  a 
request  for  them  was  sent  to  St.  Domingue.5  Part  of  the 
return  cargo  consisted  of  two  barrels  of  rice  for  planting, 
bought  at  a  cost  of  twenty-five  livres ;  ten  "  quarts  "  of 
brandy,  and  two  casks  of  wine,  at  1,000  livres.6  The  imme- 
diate needs  of  the  colony,  however,  were  satisfied.  In  order 
to  prevent  a  repetition  of  such  requests,  it  was  proposed  that, 
since  St.  Domingue  was  a  port  of  call  for  all  ships  coming 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  209-213,  216-217. 

1  Ibid.,  fols.  511,  791. 

»  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  Dec.  27,  1715. 

4  La  Harpe,  p.  122. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  iv,  fols.  355-356. 
•  Ibid.,  fols.  445-446. 


371  ]         TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          37! 

to  Louisiana,  and  lay  only  eight  or  ten  days'  journey  away, 
it  be  made  a  general  depot  of  food  supplies  for  the  prov- 
ince.1 Nothing  was  done  with  the  suggestion  and  smug- 
gling seems  to  have  become  more  common  than  ever.  At 
any  rate  in  September,  1716,  Bienville  on  his  own  account 
sold  800  deerskins  at  four  reaux  each  and  a  considerable 
amount  of  lumber.  Governor  Cadillac  determined  to  in- 
voke the  protection  of  the  crown  against  such  traffic.2  Ac- 
cordingly he  proposed  that  this  particular  boat  on  its  return 
be  confiscated  as  a  means  of  deterring  others  that  might  be 
similarly  engaged.3  The  Crozat  agents,  however,  refused 
to  alter  the  conditions  that  had  caused  the  development  of 
an  illicit  traffic,  therefore  they  were  unable  to  suppress  it. 

Fortunately  for  Louisiana  the  Company  of  the  West 
held  more  liberal  views  than  Crozat  had  done  on  the  sub- 
ject of  trade,  hence  from  the  outset  better  feeling  prevailed 
between  the  officials  and  the  people.*  Enterprises  beneficial 
to  the  province  as  a  whole  and  undertaken  by  the  inhabi- 
tants themselves,  were  often  encouraged.  When,  in  1720, 
for  example,  certain  settlers  asked  for  permission  to  con- 
struct a  boat  of  sixty  tons  to  be  used  in  carrying  domestic 
animals  from  St.  Domingue,  the  request  was  granted.6 
Little  by  little  the  island  trade  developed  until,  in  1722, 
there  were  three  elements  at  work:  Louisiana  ships  that 
made  voyages  to  both  Martinique  and  St.  Domingue,  where 
they  exchanged  corn,  lumber  and  peltry  for  brandy  and 
flour;  island  boats  carrying  on  a  similar  trade;  and  ves- 
sels from  France  that  took  on  the  return  trip  cargoes  of 
products  from  the  province  to  the  islands.6 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iv,  fols.  393-394,  847. 

2  Ibid.,  fols.  355-356.  3  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  fol.  5- 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  46-47. 

6  Cotte  G,  Feb.  6,  1720,  La.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans.,  N.  O. 

•  Beranger,  Mimoire  de  la  Louisiane,  p.  89.    Newberry  Lib.,  Chicago. 


372  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [372 

Of  the  persons  interested  in  the  three  forms  of  venture, 
Louisiana  settlers  were  the  first  to  take  advantage  of  the 
commercial  opportunities  thus  presented.  In  1722,  on  being 
given  permission  by  the  Company  so  to  do,  they  despatched 
a  cargo  of  lumber  to  Cape  Frangais  and  there  exchanged 
it  in  part  for  indigo  seed.1  The  same  year,  however,  the 
manager  of  one  of  the  large  landed  concessions  of  Louis- 
iana was  refused  permission  to  imitate  this  example  on  the 
ground  that  it  would  serve  merely  as  a  pretext  to  trade 
with  the  Spaniards  to  the  serious  injury  of  the  Company.1 
About  this  time,  also,  the  provincial  officials  received  a  com- 
munication from  Cape  Frangais  urging  them  to  establish 
better  commercial  relations  with  it.  The  superior  council, 
convinced  of  the  soundness  of  the  argument  presented,  de- 
cided to  allow  the  colonists  to  send  thither  lumber,  tar, 
pitch,  brick  and  other  products,  and  those  persons  who  had 
the  means  at  once  availed  themselves  of  the  permission.8 

In  1726,  the  officials  of  the  areas  concerned  held  a  con- 
ference on  the  matter  of  trade,  and  formulated  a  plan  to 
exchange  Spanish  silver  for  rice,  corn,  lumber  and  other 
local  wares.  The  scheme  met  with  general  approval,  since 
it  would  help  to  put  silver  money  into  circulation,  and  could 
easily  be  carried  into  effect  by  the  vessels  coming  to  Louis- 
iana from  France.4  In  1728,  furthermore,  the  attention  of 
the  home  government  was  called  to  the  great  advantage, 
both  to  the  Company  and  the  colony,  which  might  be  de- 
rived from  such  traffic.  Assenting  to  the  plan  the  French 
authorities  despatched  an  order  to  Louisiana  that  three 
vessels  be  employed  forthwith  in  the  island  trade;  two  to 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  342. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  viii,  fols.  88-91. 

*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  pp.  387-388. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1*,  vol.  x,  fol.  310. 


373]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          373 

Cape  Frangais  and  the  other  to  Martinique,  carrying  cargoes 
of  laths,  shingles  and  other  forms  of  lumber  as  well  as 
pitch  and  tar.1  The  next  year  the  crown  was  informed 
that  the  province  had  already  received  much  benefit  from 
the  process,  through  an  increase  in  the  supply  of  domestic 
animals,  whereas  the  islands  in  turn  obtained  considerable 
quantities  of  rice,  corn  and  beans.2 

On  resuming  possession  of  Louisiana,  in  1731,  the  crown 
began  at  once  to  remove  some  of  the  restrictions  on  the 
island  trade.  From  July  onward  all  duties  on  such  com- 
merce were  to  be  removed.  Moreover  the  insular  officials 
were  instructed  to  do  what  they  could  to  interest  local  mer- 
chants in  the  traffic  and  the  provincial  authorities,  similarly, 
were  directed  to  urge  the  colonists  to  produce  commodities 
suited  to  the  purpose  and  to  see  to  it  also  that  every  avail- 
able boat  was  actively  employed  in  the  trade.  A  traffic  in 
lumber  with  Martinique,  where  it  was  said  to  be  rare,  was 
especially  insisted  upon.  The  governor  of  Martinique  like- 
wise was  shown  the  advisability  of  promoting  the  commerce 
in  question,  because  the  products  of  that  province  and 
Louisiana  were  readily  exchangeable.8 

One  of  the  passengers  of  the  royal  vessel  that  left  France 
bearing  the  above  instructions  was  Salmon,  the  new  "  or- 
donnateur  ",  whom  the  crown  directed  to  confer  with  the 
governor  of  the  "Isles  du  Vent"  (Windward  Islands) 
about  ways  and  means  to  foster  trade  between  that  French 
province  and  the  one  on  the  mainland.  The  governor  was 
informed  that  through  it  the  island  could  be  supplied  with 
all  kinds  of  lumber  and  at  the  same  time  would  secure  a 
market  for  its  syrup,  "  tafia  ",  flour,  sugar,  horses,  mules, 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  111-112. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  117-118. 

»  Ibid.,  Str.  B,  vol.  Iv,  fols.  585,  596. 


374  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [374 

catties  and  piastres.  Salmon  was  instructed  similarly  to 
do  what  he  could  to  develop  the  trade  of  Louisiana  with 
other  French  island  settlements,  especially  Cape  Frangais. 
If  possible  he  was  to  induce  merchants  from  the  latter 
to  send  a  boat  to  the  former  on  a  trial  trip,  and  before 
leaving  Cape  Frangais  he  should  notify  the  crown  of  the 
results  of  his  efforts.1 

On  his  arrival  in  Louisiana  the  "  ordonnateur  ",  in  con- 
junction with  Governor  Perier,  publicly  announced  that 
trade  with  the  islands,  especially  in  cattle  and  horses,  was 
to  be  open  to  all  settlers  alike.  On  January  20,  1732,  it 
was  asserted  that  the  province  would  soon  be  in  a  position 
to  supply  the  insular  colonies  with  cordage,  flour,  lard, 
beef,  pitch,  tar,  pine,  cypress,  oak  and  walnut  planks, 
weather-boarding,  all  kinds  of  timber  for  building  pur- 
poses and  some  oak  lumber  as  well,  suited  for  the  making 
of  furniture,  in  fact,  to  enter  upon  commercial  relations 
similar  to  those  carried  on  by  New  York  and  Carolina  with 
the  English  islands.2  This  was  a  rather  sanguine  opinion, 
however,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  on  March  30,  1732,  all 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  could  report  was  some  advance  in  the 
trade  with  St.  Domingue  and  "  Isle  Royalle  ",3 

During  the  same  month  further  interest  was  manifested 
in  the  development  of  commerce  with  the  islands,  when  a 
proposal  was  made  that  new  boats,  and  even  many  new 
ones  if  the  trade  with  the  islands  warranted  it,  should  be 
constructed  in  the  ship  yards  of  Louisiana.4  Until  the 
colonial  boats  could  be  built  it  was  proposed  that  the  traffic 
be  carried  on  in  any  that  could  be  provided.  Before  the 

!/4.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Iv,  fols.  384,  615. 
2  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  244. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xv,  fols.  77-78. 
4  Ibid.,  fols.  54-56. 


375]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          375 

end  of  the  year  a  French  merchant  craft  took  over  a  special 
cargo  of  brick  and  lumber  to  the  islands  where  it  was  ex- 
changed for  sugar  and  syrup.  In  other  cases  ships  of  the 
sort  usually  took  on  cargoes  of  Louisiana  products  for  the 
West  Indies  only  to  return  to  France.1  On  September 
2,  1732,  a  royal  vessel  left  the  province  for  St.  Domingue 
with  a  cargo  of  brick  and  lumber  belonging  partly  to  the 
crown  and  partly  to  the  settlers.2 

On  October  8,  1733,  the  home  government  expressed  to 
the  "  ordonnateur  "  and  the  governor  a  hope  that  the  trade 
between  Louisiana  and  the  island  provinces  would  soon  be 
firmly  established.  It  was  the  royal  wish,  also,  that  the  in- 
habitants be  induced  to  make  a  thorough  test  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  traffic  in  order  to  ascertain  what  benefit  might 
be  expected  from  it.  To  this  end,  as  soon  as  completed,  the 
boat  then  under  construction  was  to  be  freighted  with  local 
products  and  despatched  to  the  islands.3  At  this  time  it 
seems  an  English  company  offered  the  Louisiana  officials 
to  provide  a  supply  of  boats  for  the  French  West  Indies 
trade;  but  on  reference  to  the  crown  the  proposal  was  re- 
jected on  the  ground  that  it  might  lead  to  evil  results. 
From  the  royal  standpoint  it  was  declared  better  policy  to 
attempt  to  use  insular  boats  for  the  purpose.  However,  if 
the  Louisiana  officials  felt  reasonably  sure  that  the  English 
offer  was  entirely  safe,  the  home  government  might  with- 
draw its  refusal.4 

In  1734,  the  crown  had  three  vessels  in  Louisiana  fit  for 
the  island  trade,5  but  before  they  had  been  long  in  the  ser- 
vice one  was  wrecked  by  a  storm,  and  only  one  of  the 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Sfr.  &*,  vol.  xv,  fol.  71. 

1  Ibid.,  fols.  77-78,  127;  vol.  xvi,  fols.  83-84;  Sir.  B,  vol.  Ivii,  fol.  801. 

5  Ibid.,  Str.  B,  vol.  lix,  fols.  573-574- 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  122-124. 


376  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [-576 

others  was  engaged  in  the  traffic.1  At  yet  the  major  part 
of  the  commerce  was  carried  on  by  the  merchant  vessels 
from  France  on  their  return  trips.2  The  islanders  on  their 
part  had  one  ship  concerned  in  it.3  Interested  as  they  were 
in  any  possibility  of  promoting  trade  with  the  West  Indies, 
few  of  the  Louisiana  settlers  were  able  to  furnish  the  need- 
ful financial  backing.  In  1735,  two  of  them  fitted  out  a 
boat  with  a  cargo  for  Martinique  consisting  of  tar,  pitch, 
hulled  rice,  peas,  beans,  lumber,  brick,  and  floor  tiles.  On 
account  of  a  fire  that  broke  out  on  board  the  captain  was 
forced  to  carry  the  goods  to  Cape  Franc.ais  instead.4  An 
English  vessel,  similarly,  which  had  been  confiscated  at 
Mobile,  was  despatched  with  a  cargo  for  the  islands,  but 
on  arriving  at  Cape  Frangais  was  condemned  as  unsea- 
worthy  and  retired  from  the  service.  Thus  in  a  single  year 
two  vessels  were  lost  to  the  trade.5 

Disasters  like  these  were  discouraging  not  only  to  the 
Louisiana  settlers,  but  they  added  to  the  disinclination  felt 
by  the  insular  merchants  for  voyages  to  the  continental 
province.  The  feeling  was  due  partly  to  dread  of  the  sea 
and  partly  to  the  danger  of  capture  by  pirates.  Then,  too, 
boats  in  the  islands  as  well  as  Louisiana  were  not  plentiful, 
and  there  was  a  shortage  of  money  and  sailors  with  which 
to  equip  them.6 

About  the  end  of  August,  1735,  a  small  ship  of  twenty- 
five  tons  laden  with  crude  sugar  reached  Louisiana,  sup- 
posedly from  St.  Domingue.  During  its  stay  at  New  Or- 
leans a  report  got  abroad  that  the  owner  was  a  Canadian 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xix,  fols.  8-10;  vol.  xvi,  fols.  122-124. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xix,  fols.  3-5,  104-105,  106-107. 
8  Ibid.,  fols.  90-01. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  52-56.  5  Ibid. 

« Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fol.  596. 


377]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          377 

freebooter  who  had  secured  his  cargo  in  an  exchange  for 
negroes  obtained  through  a  piratical  venture.  Though  the 
truth  of  the  story  could  not  be  ascertained,  the  character 
of  the  captain  seemed  to  vouch  for  it.  At  all  events,  re- 
gardless of  the  way  in  which  the  merchandise  had  been 
acquired,  he  was  allowed  to  sell  it.1 

In  compliance  with  royal  instructions  to  that  effect,  the 
Louisiana  officials  tried  to  do  what  they  could  to  replace  the 
local  boats  that  had  been  lost  by  accident  during  the  year 
but  without  immediate  success.  Meanwhile  the  trade  was 
carried  on  as  usual  by  the  French  merchant  vessels.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  year  1735  an  insular  merchant  came  to  New 
Orleans  on  one  of  these  ships  with  some  wine  and  flour 
which  he  exchanged  for  bricks,  joists,  laths  and  other  lum- 
ber. The  venture  was  profitable  and  the  Louisiana  settlers 
hoped  the  merchant  in  question  would  soon  put  a  boat  of 
his  own  in  the  trade.2  In  the  same  year,  also,  the  crown 
approved  a  plan  to  create  commerce  with  Guadeloupe,  and 
directed  the  officials  to  offer  every  encouragement  to  it. 
Even  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  the  trade  must  necessarily 
be  small  and  that  there  would  be  no  cargoes  for  the  return 
trip,  the  home  government  urged  the  establishment  on  the 
ground  that  in  any  case  it  was  too  important  to  be  neglected. 
The  crown  communicated  with  the  governor  of  Guade- 
loupe also  on  the  matter.  From  him  a  reply  was  received, 
stating  that  a  ship  had  been  there  from  Louisiana,  and  its 
owner  had  sold  the  cargo  advantageously.  Moreover,  it 
was  further  asserted  that  the  captain  had  made  arrange- 
ments to  continue  trading  with  that  island.  The  French 
authorities,  therefore,  were  convinced  that  such  a  venture 
was  sufficient  proof  to  warrant  an  energetic  effort  to  pro- 
mote the  commerce  in  question.3 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xx,  fols.  101-104. 

a  Ibid.,  fols.  85-91 ;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiii,  fols.  587,  596. 

» Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixii,  fols.  313,  3i5-3i6;  vol.  Ixiii,  fols.  624,  629. 


378  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [378 

In  1736,  a  French  merchant  craft  made  the  homeward 
voyage  by  way  of  Martinique  carrying  to  the  island  a  cargo 
of  lumber,  tobacco  and  tar.1  Merchants  of  Martinique 
and  Guadeloupe  had  at  Mobile  a  vessel  of  forty  tons  that 
sold  its  cargo  at  a  good  profit  and  took  back  a  load  of 
pitch,  tar  and  peltry,  and  a  vessel  from  Cape  Frangais  was 
similarly  engaged.2  The  officials  of  Louisiana  hoped  the 
success  of  these  ventures  would  encourage  other  islanders 
to  take  up  the  work.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  previous  year 
a  settler  of  the  province  bought  a  boat  from  a  merchant  of 
Bordeaux  and  at  once  put  it  into  the  island  trade.  Before 
the  end  of  the  year  1736  it  was  making  its  second  trip  to 
Martinique  with  a  cargo  of  tar,  pitch,  hulled  rice,  peas 
and  beans,  notwithstanding  the  first  consignment  brought 
him  small  profit.3 

The  year  1737  opened  with  an  apparent  setback  to  the 
island  trade.  On  January  19,  a  vessel  of  sixty  tons  from 
Cape  Frangais  when  almost  at  the  end  of  its  voyage  ran 
into  a  storm  and  was  wrecked  on  one  of  the  coastal  islands 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile.  The  captain,  crew  and 
much  of  the  cargo,  which  was  made  up  of  300  "  quarts  " 
of  flour  and  other  merchandise,  were  saved,  but  the  ship 
was  damaged  beyond  repair.  The  accident  was  greatly 
deplored  in  Louisiana,  because  it  was  feared  that,  since  the 
boat  was  only  on  its  second  trip,  the  disaster  would  dis- 
courage the  islanders  from  further  efforts  to  trade  with 
the  province.4  To  counteract  this  misfortune  a  Bordeaux 
boat  of  fifty  tons  was  condemned  by  the  colonial  officials  in 
1736.  A  captain  of  the  provincial  army  bought  it,  over- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  25-30,  94-100. 
8  Ibid.,  fols.  20-30,  250-253,  328. 
8  Ibid.,  fols.  25-30,  94-100. 
4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  173-175. 


379]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          379 

hauled  it  and  had  it  made  seaworthy.  Early  in  June,  1737, 
it  was  freighted  with  Louisiana  products  and  despatched 
to  Martinique.1 

At  this  time  the  home  government  was  actually  endeav- 
oring to  build  up  trade  between  the  Gulf  coast  province 
and  the  French  islands.  To  this  end  it  instructed  its  agents 
in  the  former  colony  to  do  what  they  could  to  interest  the 
merchants  there  in  such  an  undertaking.  On  its  own  part, 
by  way  of  encouragement,  it  agreed  to  exempt  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  beginning  July  i,  1737,  from  all  duties 
cargoes  carried  from  Louisiana  to  the  "  Isles  du  Vent ". 
The  crown  also  commanded  the  intendant  of  the  latter 
to  have  the  ordinance  registered  with  the  superior  council 
and  publicly  posted.2 

Little  is  known  about  the  trade  for  the  years  1738,  1739 
and  1740,  beyond  the  fact  that  vessels  from  France  carried 
colonial  products  from  Louisiana  to  the  islands  and  that  the 
cargoes  were  composed  of  lumber,  brick,  peas,  corn,  "  Ap- 
palaches  "  beans,  and  rice.3  Much  of  the  cypress  lumber 
was  cut  and  marked  ready  to  put  together  into  a  house  as 
soon  as  it  reached  the  islands.  Brick  sold  there  at  from 
fourteen  to  fifteen  livres  a  thousand;  beans  at  ten  livres, 
and  peas  at  from  twelve  to  thirteen  livres  a  barrel,  weighing 
200  pounds.  A  few  islanders  and  Louisiana  merchants 
were  still  occupied  with  a  similar  traffic.  They  took  over 
like  cargoes  and  brought  back  sugar,  coffee,  brandy  and 
"  guildive  ",  gaining  on  such  merchandise  100  per  cent  or 
more.4 

In  order  to  provide  adequate  protection  against  possible 

*-A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  33- 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxlii,  July  I,  1737;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixv,  fol.  506- 
J  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiii,  fols.  123-124,  134- 137- 

*  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  pp.  387-388. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [380 

seizure  by  the  English  on  suspicion  of  carrying  contraband 
to  the  Spanish  possessions,  it  was  found  advisable,  in  1741, 
to  have  the  ships  go  and  come  in  convoys.  As  a  result, 
Cape  Frangais  became  a  port  of  call  for  all  vessels  bound 
for  and  returning  from  Louisiana,  because  from  that  point 
onward  they  were  accompanied  by  a  man-of-war.1  As 
hostilities  between  France  and  England  had  not  yet  been 
declared,  the  insular  trade  was  not  otherwise  affected  by 
the  existing  war. 

In  July,  two  settlers  arrived  in  a  small  boat  from  Mar- 
tinique, primarily  for  the  purpose  of  trade.  During  their 
stay  they  bought  a  plantation  three  leagues  below  New 
Orleans  and  returned  home  with  the  intention  of  coming 
back  with  their  slaves  and  other  property.2  In  this  connec- 
tion the  crown  was  petitioned  to  allow  1,500  small  farmers 
to  migrate  from  Martinique  and  St.  Domingue  to  Louis- 
iana; but  since  departures  of  the  sort  had  been  put  forth 
by  the  islanders  as  a  risk  likely  to  arise  from  trading  with 
that  province  and  might  lessen  such  commerce  as  actually 
existed,  the  petition  was  denied.3  Regardless  of  this  phase 
of  the  situation,  the  traffic  prospered.  During  the  year  in 
question  five  vessels  came  from  Martinique  and  St.  Domin- 
gue alone  and  their  owners  admitted  their  satisfaction  with 
the  profits  obtained  and  expressed  a  willingness  to  continue 
sending  vessels  to  Louisiana.4  In  1742  more  than  a  dozen 
ships  brought  cargoes  of  wine,  flour  and  "  guildive  ",  for 
which  they  took  in  exchange  lumber,  planks,  rice,  peas, 
beans,  tar,  pitch  and  other  products.  French  merchantmen 
also  carried  to  the  islands  similar  cargoes.5  The  island 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  128,  178. 

2  Supra,  p.  240. 

s  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  29-30,  108. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  108. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  38,  109 ;  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  35-36. 


381]         TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          381 

trade  for  1743  apparently  was  brisk.  In  July,  a  boat  left 
the  province  for  Martinique  and  another  for  St.  Domingue, 
while  one  arrived  from  the  former  in  the  following  month.1 
In  September  alone  eight  ships  appeared,  two  of  which 
were  from  Martinique  and  two  from  Cape  Franc.ais.2 

By  1744,  the  traffic  with  the  "  Americans  ",  as  the  people 
of  Louisiana  called  the  French  islanders,  had  become  quite 
considerable.  Governor  Vaudreuil  states  that  at  the  time 
twenty  vessels  came  from  St.  Domingue  and  Martinique 
with  merchandise  and  rum,  and  received  in  exchange  pias- 
tres, peas,  beans  and  lumber.3  The  next  year  the 
ships  from  the  islands  and  those  from  France  left  Louis- 
iana in  convoys  in  order  to  protect  themselves  against  the 
English;  otherwise  the  war  seems  to  have  had  no  effect 
upon  the  island  trade.4  During  the  year  many  merchant 
ships  from  "  America  "  came  to  Louisiana  with  cargoes  of 
liquor  which,  it  was  claimed,  did  more  harm  than  good, 
in  spite  of  the  market  it  furnished  for  local  products.  The 
coming  of  these  vessels,  furthermore,  gave  the  Louisiana 
officials  greater  opportunity  to  communicate  with  the  home 
government.  As  this  was  especially  desirable  in  war  times, 
the  opposition  to  the  sale  of  "  guildive  "  and  other  intoxi- 
cants was  not  particularly  violent.5 

By  1747,  however,  the  war  between  England  and  France 
was  having  some  effect  on  the  "  American  "  trade,  which 
the  English  had  been  unable  seriously  to  interrupt.8  As 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  84-85,  101-102,  117. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxviii,  fol.  25. 

»  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fol.  219;  The  Present  State  of  the  Coun- 
try, etc.,  1744,  PP.  8-9,  10,  33-34. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  34-35- 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  110-112;  vol.  xxxi,  fol.  08. 
•  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  85-86. 


382  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [382 

before  the  commodities  sent  to  the  islands  consisted  of 
lumber,  pitch,  tar,  brick,  floor-tiles,  tallow,  peas,  beans,  corn 
and  other  foodstuffs,  and  the  return  cargoes  of  molasses, 
sugar,  coffee  and  silver.1 

In  1748,  the  lumber,  tar,  pitch  and  tallow  despatched 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  settlers  themselves,  is  quoted  as 
worth  about  38,750  livres.  To  this  amount  must  be  added 
18,750  livres  in  lumber  and  200,000  in  pitch,  tar  and  tal- 
low sent  by  the  French  merchants.2  Instead  of  destroying 
trade  with  the  islands,  therefore,  the  war  had  rather  pro- 
moted it.  The  danger  from  seizure  had  been  too  great  to 
make  it  advisable  for  the  French  merchants  to  take  cargoes 
from  Louisiana  to  France,  accordingly  the  vessels  carried 
cargoes  to  the  West  Indies  where  the  risk  was  smaller.3 

As  had  always  been  the  case,  any  considerable  impetus 
given  to  the  traffic  would  have  called  for  a  corresponding 
expenditure,  and  there  were  few  persons  either  in  Louis- 
iana or  the  islands  in  a  position  to  make  such  an  investment 
of  capital.  Then,  too,  the  few  who  were  able  to  do  so  had 
but  one  aim,  that  of  securing  for  themselves  a  monopolistic 
control  which  would  insure  their  own  fortunes  quickly,  re- 
gardless of  the  possible  loss  to  a  development  of  the  trade 
as  a  whole.  Hence  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  prospects 
for  rapid  and  healthy  growth  in  the  island  trade  on  a  large 
scale  were  not  very  favorable.4 

By  1750,  nevertheless,  the  traffic  had  become  quite  active. 
Over  forty  vessels  came  to  Louisiana,  most  of  which  were 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  222-227;  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii, 
fol.  108;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fol.  112. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  41 ;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  Joly  Coll,  vol. 
1726,  fols.  242-243. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser,  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  52. 

4  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  108,  120;  A.,  B.  N.f  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fol 
113. 


383]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          383 

from  St.  Domingue  and  Martinique.  All  of  them  carried 
back  cargoes  of  lumber  and  brick  for  the  rebuilding  of 
villages  that  had  been  destroyed  "by  a  fire  from  Heaven".1 
The  traffic  was  especially  encouraging  to  the  people  of 
Louisiana  who  had  feared  the  English,  who  were  reported 
to  have  brought  lumber  to  the  islands  the  year  before, 
might  supplant  them.  Their  fear  was  allayed  further  by 
an  assurance  from  the  home  government  that  a  general 
permission  had  not  been  granted  to  the  English  to  provide 
St.  Domingue  with  lumber.  The  report  that  such  a  privi- 
lege had  been  conferred  arose  from  the  fact  that  an  Eng- 
lish ship  had  been  permitted  to  sell  material  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  small  church  at  Cape  Frangais.  The  protec- 
tion of  their  lumber  trade  so  pleased  the  people  of  Louis- 
iana that,  on  May  16,  1751,  they  sent  to  the  crown,  through 
their  "  ordonnateur  ",  an  address  of  appreciation.2 

In  the  following  year  the  island  traffic  met  with  a  slight 
misfortune.  On  April  28,  1751,  it  seems,  a  brigantin  left 
Louisiana  for  Cape  Frangais  with  a  shipload  of  mules,  and 
returned  in  January,  1752,  with  a  cargo  of  insular  products. 
After  selling  the  latter  the  captain  bought  six  mules  and 
five  Indian  slaves  and  again  set  out  for  Cape  Frangais. 
When  about  twenty  leagues  from  its  destination  the  vessel 
was  seized  by  the  Spaniards  who  carried  it  to  a  post  in  San 
Domingo  where  both  ships  and  cargo  were  confiscated,  on 
the  ground  that  the  mules  had  been  procured  in  clandes- 
tine trade  with  a  Spanish  colony.  The  officials  of  Louis- 
iana protested  against  the  seizure  without  avail;  hence  in 
order  to  convince  the  Spaniards  that  Louisiana  was  able 
to  export  mules  and  to  obtain  reimbursement  it  became 
necessary  to  appeal  the  case  to  France.  There  is  no  evi- 

1  Jes.  ReL,  vol.  Ixix,  pp.  213-215. 

1  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  298-299;  vol.  xxxv,  fol.  204; 
Ser.  B,  vol.  xci,  fol.  8. 


284  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [384 

dence  that  the  home  government  ever  took  up  the  matter 
with  the  Spanish  authorities.1 

For  the  year  1752,  in  general,  the  trade  was  encouraging. 
Large  quantities  of  lumber  found  good  prices  at  St.  Do- 
mingue.2  Here  also  was  a  market  for  myrtle-wax.3  About 
this  time,  however,  the  trade  with  the  islands  began  to  as- 
sume a  somewhat  different  form.  Numerous  vessels  came 
thence  to  Louisiana  with  cargoes  of  European  merchan- 
dise which  was  offered  for  sale  at  an  advance  of  not  less 
than  150  per  cent  on  the  purchase  price.  When  the  pros- 
pective buyers  complained  of  so  excessive  a  rate  of  commis- 
sion the  island  merchant  replied  that  the  arrangement 
opened  to  them  a  market  for  their  lumber  and  other  pro- 
ducts which  the  French  merchants  would  not  take  if  they 
brought  these  goods  directly  from  France.  The  assertion 
was  true  to  a  certain  extent,  but  the  small  boats  from  the 
West  Indies  were  able  to  carry  only  from  3,000  to  4,000 
livres  worth  of  lumber,  whereas  the  merchandise  they 
brought  over  amounted  in  value  to  40,000  or  50,000  livres. 
Were  the  latter  fully  disposed  of,  the  difference  was  taken 
to  the  islands  in  bills  of  exchange  on  France,  which  in 
most  cases  was  sufficient  to  enable  the  merchants  concerned 
to  buy  there  additional  European  articles  for  a  new  cargo 
to  Louisiana.  The  province  thus  had  to  pay  high  prices 
for  such  wares  in  order  to  secure  a  small  market  for  cer- 
tain of  its  own  products  at  the  risk  of  being  deprived  cor- 
respondingly of  its  market  in  the  mother  country  for 
tobacco,  indigo  and  similar  commodities  in  demand  there.4 

Though  statistics  for  the  period  are  scant,  it  seems  prob- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvi,  fols.  62-63. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  228,  270. 
s  Ibid.,  fols.  271-272,  275. 
4  Ibid.,  fols.  327-328. 


385]         TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          385 

able  that  the  trade  with  the  islands  in  1753  and  1754  dif- 
fered little  from  what  it  had  been  for  a  year  or  two  pre- 
vious, for  in  September,  1754,  the  colonial  officials  in- 
formed the  home  government  that  the  number  of  vessels 
coming  to  the  province  convinced  them  that  the  commerce 
between  Louisiana  and  the  Windward  Islands  was  at  last 
firmly  established.1  In  some  measure  to  relieve  the  settlers 
on  the  mainland  from  the  excessive  prices  charged  by  the 
islanders,  an  order  came  from  France  at  this  time  to  send 
a  royal  ship,  the  "  Rochefort ",  to  St.  Domingue  with  a 
cargo  of  lumber  to  be  exchanged  there  for  European 
merchandise.2  Furthermore,  the  crown  granted  to  a  mer- 
chant from  Bordeaux  a  permit  to  establish  in  Louisiana  a 
lumber  camp  for  the  trade  with  the  West  Indies.  On 
reaching  the  province,  however,  the  grantee  found  that  the 
settlers  were  in  the  habit  of  employing  their  negroes  dur- 
ing the  winter  months  in  cutting  wood  and  sawing  it  into 
lumber  for  the  islands  and  accordingly  were  able  to  furnish 
all  that  they  could  get  transported  thither.  Instead  of  es- 
tablishing the  camp,  therefore,  he  proceeded  to  buy  the 
lumber  and  ship  it  on  his  own  account.3 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1754,  therefore,  the  trade  be- 
tween Louisiana  and  the  French  islands  was  advancing. 
The  journey  required  from  twelve  to  fifteen  days  each  way, 
with  cargoes  thither  made  up  as  heretofore,  of  lumber  of 
all  sorts,  to  the  amount  of  180,000  livres  annually;  pitch, 
tar  and  vegetables  worth  30,000  livres ;  myrtle-wax,  valued 
at  about  25,000  livres;  tallow  and  bear's  oil  estimated  at 
25,000  livres;  and  brick,  salt  meat,  and  grains,  the  value  of 
which  is  not  stated.  On  the  return  trip,  as  was  usually  the 
case,  island  products,  such  as  sugar  and  liquors,  were 
carried.4 

^  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxvii,  foL  83;  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  51. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxviii,  fols.  84-85,  90. 

s  Ibid.,  fols.  37-38.  *  Ibid.,  fols.  208,  265. 


386  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [386 

In  January,  1755,  the  "  Rochef  ort "  was  despatched  to 
Port-au-Prince  with  a  cargo  of  lumber,  and  returned  the 
next  year  laden  with  merchandise  for  the  royal  storehouse.1 
Other  vessels  having  pitch,  tar,  lumber,  hams,  salt  beef, 
peas,  beans,  myrtle-wax,  and  corn  on  board  sailed  to  the 
islands  and  brought  back  sugar,  syrup,  coffee,  brandy  and 
French  merchandise  in  general.2  Despite  the  vigilance  of 
the  Louisiana  officials,  abuses  crept  into  the  trade  which  re- 
quired adjustment.  Among  other  things  the  island  mer- 
chants had  fraudulently  introduced  flour  into  the  province. 
So  as  to  put  an  end  to  the  practice  so  prejudicial  to  the 
commerce  with  the  mother  country,  it  became  necessary  to 
enact  a  law  prohibiting  it  under  penalty  of  confiscation  of 
the  entire  cargo  of  the  vessel  concerned.3 

From  1757  to  the  end  of  the  French  control  of  the  Miss- 
issippi valley,  the  war  between  France  and  England  greatly 
disturbed  the  trade  with  the  West  Indies  but  did  not  destroy 
it  entirely.4  In  1759,  for  example,  Rochemore,  the  "  or- 
donnateur  ",  bought  a  cargo  of  "  guildive  "  5  from  St.  Do- 
mingue.6  The  captain  of  the  boat  that  brought  it,  as 
well  as  the  masters  of  all  other  vessels  that  came  to  Louis- 
iana during  the  incumbency  of  that  official,  had  little  respect 
for  him.  Though  compelled  to  secure  their  bills  of  ex- 
change from  the  "  ordonnateur  ",  they  usually,  more  or 
less  openly,  took  sides  with  the  governor's  faction  in  the 
local  broils  of  the  time.  This  was  natural  enough  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  Rochemore  cut  deeply  into  the  trade  which 
up  to  this  time  they  had  all  to  themselves.  The  "  ordon- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xxxix,  fols.  76-77,  140,  223. 

2  Ibid.,  fol.  170;  Pownall,  App.,  p.  20. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  Fs,  vol.  ccxliii,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  April  9,  1755. 

*  Ibid.,  Str.  C«,  vol.  xxxix,  fols.  258-259,  288;  vol.  xl,  fols.  7-8. 
5  Supra,  p.  220. 

•  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F3,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  101-105. 


387]        TRADE  WITH  THE  FRENCH  WEST  INDIES          387 

nateur  "  forced  them  to  sell  to  him  instead  of  to  whomso- 
ever they  saw  fit,  and  in  one  instance  a  captain  found  it 
necessary  to  pay  Rochemore's  secretary  100  livres  to  get 
him  to  read  his  trade  permit.1  This  situation  in  the  prov- 
ince itself,  added  to  that  caused  by  the  war  at  large,  had  a 
depressing  effect  upon  the  island  trade,  yet  in  1760,  1761 
and  1 762,  there  were  vessels  still  engaged  in  it.1 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xli,  fols.  120-125. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xlii,  f ol.  68 ;  vol.  xliii,  fols.  26,  103. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

WHEN  La  Salle  made  his  attempt  to  plant  a  settlement 
on  the  Gulf  coast,  trade  relations  between  France  and  Spain 
were  broken  off,  but  it  was  the  belief  of  the  French  that 
the  weakness  and  corruption  among  Spanish  colonial  offi- 
cials would  make  it  easy  to  enter  into  trade  with  Mexico 
in  spite  of  the  legal  restrictions.  To  this  end  it  was  pro- 
posed to  keep  at  St.  Esprit  Bay  (Muddy  Lake),  seventy 
leagues  from  Mexico,  an  abundance  of  merchandise  better 
in  quality  than  could  be  procured  at  Vera  Cruz.1  The 
death  of  La  Salle,  however,  delayed  the  settlement  of 
Louisiana  until  some  of  the  restrictions  on  the  trade  had 
been  removed,  but  as  they  were  continued  against  the  Eng- 
lish the  result  was  a  double  gain  for  the  French.2 

Iberville  was  also  interested  in  the  proposed  trade.  Dur- 
ing his  first  visit  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  he  found  at  Pensa- 
cola  two  Spanish  vessels,  from  Vera  Cruz  and  Havana, 
respectively.8  This  chance  encounter  was  destined  to  pro- 
duce important  results.  As  early  as  1703,  one  of  the  royal 
"  traversiers "  had  made  three  trips  from  Louisiana  to 
Vera  Cruz  in  search  of  food  supplies  for  the  new  col- 
ony, after  which  time  boats  from  the  former  made  fre- 
quent voyages  to  the  latter  on  similar  errands.  On  these 

1  Margry,  vol.  lii,  pp.  568-569. 

2Charlevoix,  New  France,  vol.  v,  p.  128;  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  3,  pp. 
40-41. 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  502;  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.  and  Fla.,  vol.  i,  p.  20. 
388  [388 


389]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

ships,  however,  the  governor  at  Vera  Cruz  would  allow 
only  limited  quantities  of  supplies  to  be  taken,  poor  in  qual- 
ity and  high  in  price.1  That  these  voyages  to  and  from 
Vera  Cruz  were  not  wholly  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
supplies  of  food  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  in  1710,  a 
complaint  was  made  to  the  home  government  that  the  royal 
vessels  in  the  province  were  used  almost  exclusively  by  the 
brothers  of  Iberville  in  carrying  their  peltry  and  other 
merchandise  to  the  Spanish  market,  and  that  the  cost  to  the 
crown  for  such  transportation  for  the  years  1702  to  1706 
amounted  to  71,750  livres.2 

These  activities  on  the  part  of  the  French  aroused  jeal- 
ousy at  Vera  Cruz.  It  began  to  be  harder  for  the  former 
to  secure  there  anything  that  could  be  used  to  develop  the 
Louisiana  industries.  Wheat  for  sowing  and  animals  for 
breeding  purposes  could  not  be  purchased  at  Vera  Cruz, 
and  French  merchandise  could  be  exchanged  only  for  food- 
stuffs in  small  quantities.3  In  1710  a  supply  of  flour  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  province  was  brought  from  the  town 
to  a  French  vessel  anchored  just  outside  the  harbor,  even 
if  foreigners  were  not  allowed  to  enter  or  carry  on  trade 
in  the  harbor  or  outside  of  it.  As  soon  as  the  flour  was  on 
board  the  governor  demanded  that  the  captain  set  sail  for 
home  at  once.4 

Even  before  the  appearance  of  the  Crozat  agents  in 
Louisiana,  the  governor  of  Vera  Cruz  no  doubt  had  his 
suspicions  that  many  of  the  requests  for  foodstuffs  were 
merely  pretexts  for  opening  a  traffic  in  all  sorts  of  commo- 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  485-487;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  i,  fols.  387- 
396;  vol.  ii,  fols.  586-602,  641-645. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  ii,  fols.  5-32;  Ser.  F*,  vol.  ccxli,  May  13, 
1710. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  ii,  fols.  803-809. 

4  Margry,  vol.  v    pp.  485,  487. 


390  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [390 

dities,  and  hence  adopted  measures  that  would  tend  to 
thwart  such  schemes.  From  the  beginning  of  the  new 
regime  in  Louisiana,  however,  there  was  no  attempt  to  dis- 
guise the  intentions  of  the  French  traders.1  No  sooner 
had  Governor  Cadillac  landed  than  he  despatched  the  vessel 
on  which  he  had  come  to  the  province  on  a  voyage  to  Vera 
Cruz.  Commercial  relations  at  this  time  were  openly  pro- 
posed, but  were  rejected  by  the  viceroy  who  presented  the 
commander  of  the  ship  with  a  few  cattle  and  some  provi- 
sions and  ordered  him  to  leave  the  port.2  The  failure  did 
not  discourage  the  governor  from  making  other  attempts  in 
the  same  direction.  He  began  to  construct  on  Dauphin 
Island  a  storehouse  for  European  goods  to  be  used  in  pro- 
moting the  trade  in  question.3  In  all  probability  the  Span- 
ish opposition  would  have  been  overcome,  if  at  the  close  of 
the  last  war  Spain  had  not  made  a  treaty  with  England 
to  keep  its  ports  closed  to  the  French.  Again  and  again 
the  Crozat  officials  tried  to  break  through  the  barrier  at 
Vera  Cruz  only  to  meet  with  failure,  so  alert  were  the  Eng- 
lish in  forestalling  them.4 

The  scant  success  of  the  French  at  that  Spanish  port, 
nevertheless,  was  enough  to  keep  their  interest  alive.  In  1 7 1 3 
they  were  allowed  to  buy  there  a  vessel  of  about  seventy 
tons  which  they  hoped  to  use  in  developing  trade,6  while 
at  the  same  time  they  were  endeavoring  to  make  ready 
for  the  same  service  a  royal  boat  of  about  sixty  tons.6 
They  were  still  further  encouraged  by  the  issuing  of  a  trade 
permit  to  a  merchant  of  Mexico  to  go  to  Louisiana  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.r  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ii,  fols.  589-602,  641 ;  vol.  Hi,  fols.  126-127. 

*  Charlevoix,  op.  cit.,  vol.  vi,  p.  18. 

*  Hist.  Coll.  of  La.,  pt.  3,  pp.  40-41. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  CiS,  vol.  iii,  fols.  159,  186,  223-224,  248-251. 

•  Ibid.,  fols.  245-248. 

•  Ibid.,  fol.  186. 


39 1  ]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO  39! 

manufacture  hats  from  buffalo  wool  and  catskin,  under  an 
agreement  that  one  French  vessel  a  year  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  harbor  at  Vera  Cruz  with  the  ostensible  object  of  pro- 
curing foodstuffs,  but  in  reality  for  the  purpose  of  selling 
merchandise  and  about  3,000  deerskins.1 

The  French  now  decided  to  try  another  method  -of  action, 
that  of  offering  the  merchants  in  Mexico  flattering  induce- 
ments to  bring  their  products  to  Louisiana.  French  mer- 
chandise could  thus  be  sold  more  cheaply,  since  the  risk 
involved  in  carrying  it  was  avoided  and  the  expense  re- 
quired to  provide  the  needful  boats  was  saved.2  Scarcely 
had  the  new  order  of  things  been  worked  out  when  a  Span- 
ish merchant  arrived  at  Mobile,  where  he  bought  4,000 
piastres  worth  of  merchandise  and  would  have  made  a  pur- 
chase of  40,000  but  for  an  irregularity  in  his  letter  of 
credit.3  This  sale  raised  the  hopes  of  the  Louisiana  offi- 
cials, who  at  once  began  to  evolve  other  schemes  to  ad- 
vance the  trade  more  rapidly.  To  this  end  they  looked 
about  for  some  Canadians  to  establish  a  depot  of  supplies 
on  the  Madeleine  river  and  from  that  point  as  a  base  of 
operation  to  break  up  the  English  control  of  the  traffic 
there  and  in  Vera  Cruz.  If  this  could  be  done  it  was  be- 
lieved that  the  resulting  commerce  would  net  the  French 
5,000  or  6,000  livres  a  year;  the  estimate  being  made  on 
the  supposition  that  Vera  Cruz  was  the  entrance  to  the 
riches  of  Mexico.4  Like  other  French  schemes  of  trade 
it  was  not  workable;  hence  Governor  Cadillac  was  forced 
to  fall  back  on  an  occasional  trading  trip  from  Mexico  to 
Louisiana  and  a  certain  amount  of  smuggling  carried  on 
under  the  cover  of  procuring  food  supplies.5 

In  1717,  the  Company  of  the  West  returned  to  the  old 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  356-357- 

1  Ibid.,  fol.  605.  *  Ibid.,  fols.  460-476,  512. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  fol.  54.  *  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  69,  759. 


392  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [392 

method  of  carrying  European  merchandise  to  Vera  Cruz 
and  of  openly  offering  it  for  sale  there.  Without  unload- 
ing, one  of  its  vessels  from  France  sailed  directly  for  the 
coast  of  Mexico.  Reaching  Villa  Rica,  not  far  from  Vera 
Cruz  proper,  two  of  the  crew  able  to  speak  Spanish  were 
set  ashore  with  a  price-list  of  the  articles  in  the  cargo, 
whicfy  was  to  be  shown  to  local  merchants.  The  latter, 
after  inspecting  the  merchandise,  agreed  to  purchase  it  and 
gave  Spanish  silver  in  exchange.  The  vessel  then  departed 
for  Dauphin  Island  and  eight  days  later  returned  to  France.1 
The  new  regime  was  distinctly  more  successful  in  dealing 
with  the  Spanish  in  Mexico  than  its  predecessor  had  been. 
On  November  25,  1718,  three  vessels  left  Louisiana  for 
France  laden  with  upwards  of  100,000  pounds  of  tobacco, 
logwood  and  peltry,  the  first  two  articles  having  been  se- 
cured from  Spanish  ships  that  had  found  their  way  to  the 
French  settlement.2  The  Company,  it  seems,  continued  to 
attract  the  Spaniards  to  its  province.  In  1722,  the  state- 
ment was  made  that  during  the  four  years  preceding  many 
from  Mexico  had  come  to  Mobile  and  that  in  consequence 
numerous  commodities  from  that  area  were  in  use.  The 
latter  included  tanned  skins  of  which  the  best  grades 
brought  four  livres  ten  sols  a  pound;  cocoa  that  sold  at 
eighteen  and  twenty  livres  a  quintal ;  logwood  worth  ten  to 
fifteen  livres  a  hundredweight ;  Brazil  wood,  "  a  quality  of 
logwood  superior  to  that  from  Campeachy  " ;  sarsaparilla 
in  large  quantities  at  thirteen  to  fifteen  sols  a  pound; 
vanilla  at  different  prices;  and  cochineal  valued  at  fifteen 
livres  a  pound.3  Moreover,  on  June  10  of  the  same  year 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  546. 

2Le  Gac,  Metnoire  d'apres  les  Voyages  sur  la  Louisiane,  etc.,  B.  P. 
Lib. 

3  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  pp.  389-391 ;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii, 
fols.  75-76. 


393]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

a  ship  left  Louisiana  for  Vera  Cruz  with  a  cargo  of  French 
merchandise  worth  13,800  piastres,  12,000  piastres  of 
which  had  been  purchased  directly  from  the  settlers  and  the 
remainder  from  the  royal  storehouse.1  That  the  commer- 
cial relations  were  improving  is  evident  also  from  the  fact 
that  in  September  three  vessels  arrived  from  France  with 
315,000  livres  worth  of  merchandise  intended  especially 
for  the  trade  with  Mexico.2 

In  May  and  again  in  August,  1723,  several  Spanish  mer- 
chants reached  Mobile  with  cargoes  of  tobacco,  sugar  and 
2,000  piastres,  amounting  in  all  to  4,085  piastres.  Since 
their  trading  permits  were  of  but  a  month's  duration,  not 
enough  time  was  available  to  enable  them  to  remain  until 
all  the  commodities  were  disposed  of ;  therefore  it  was  the 
custom  to  leave  one  of  the  merchants  ashore  while  the  other 
left  for  another  consignment  of  goods.  As  they  did  not 
have  sufficient  time  also  to  go  to  New  Orleans,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  establish  a  supply  depot  at  the  Balise.  This  ar- 
rangement, it  was  believed,  would  be  advantageous  to  both 
the  Spaniards  and  the  Company,  for  it  would  tend  to  give 
more  of  the  commerce  to  the  latter  by  shutting  out  private 
traders  who  were  willing  to  pay  higher  prices  for  the  Span- 
ish goods  than  the  Company  was  disposed  to  do.  In  one 
case,  it  seems,  a  woman  at  New  Orleans  had  paid  ten  reaux 
for  a  pound  of  chocolate  and  a  Spanish  merchant  had  en- 
riched private  individuals  at  the  capital  to  the  extent  of 
2,000  piastres.  In  order  to  share  in  such  benefits  until  the 
proposed  storehouse  could  be  built  the  Company  sent  a 
shallop  laden  with  merchandise  to  Dauphin  Island  where, 
however,  it  arrived  too  late  to  be  of  any  service.3  In  Oc- 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  327. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  337. 

s  A.  N.t  C.,  Sir.  Ci»,  vol.  vii,  fols.  31-35- 


3  0,4  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [394 

tober,  three  Spanish  traders  came  thither  with  a  cargo  of 
tobacco  and  other  merchandise,  the  former  article  alone 
being  worth  more  than  4,279  livres.  After  completing  their 
transactions  at  Mobile  they  left  for  New  Orleans.1 

Early  in  1725  two  more  Spanish  merchants  arrived. 
They  pretended  to  have  come  to  Louisiana  because  of  heavy 
seas  that  had  prevented  them  from  carrying  their  cargoes 
to  the  original  destination.  Anchoring  off  the  "  Island  of 
Vessels  ",  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile,  they  asked  to  be 
given  a  supply  of  food,  and  seemed  disinclined  to  do  any 
other  business,  though  merchandise  was  offered  them  at  a 
reasonable  price.  They  bought  only  113  piastres  worth, 
what  they  apparently  needed,  and  left  the  village.  They 
soon  returned  and  continued  buying  with  an  indifference 
that  had  the  desired  result  upon  the  French  who  sold  them 
peltry  very  cheaply  indeed.  Still  the  bargain  was  not  alto- 
gether one-sided;  the  skins  were  already  damaged  by  rats 
and  worms  and  were  sure  to  depreciate  further  if  not  dis- 
posed of  immediately.  The  French  took  chiefly  logwood 
in  exchange  delivered  at  the  Balise.2  As  the  supply  depot 
had  not  yet  been  established  there,  the  home  government 
was  urged  to  hasten  action  in  the  matter.  The  colonial  offi- 
cials asserted  that  one  could  not  expect  a  Spanish  merchant 
to  consume  two  months  of  his  time  going  up  the  river  in 
order  to  spend  four  days  in  trade,  the  probable  result  being 
that  the  Spaniards  would  retire  from  the  business  alto- 
gether.3 

Commerce  with  Mexico  was  not  lucrative,  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  could  be  maintained  only  at  a  great  risk  of  hav- 
ing both  vessel  and  cargo  confiscated.  So  as  to  decrease 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vii,  fols.  75-76. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  fols.  26,  51-53. 

*  A,,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  19. 


395]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

the  danger  from  this  source,  it  was  proposed,  in  1726,  that 
the  English  method  be  adopted  of  meeting  Spanish  ships 
on  the  open  sea  and  carrying  on  the  trade  there.1  The 
rumor  of  war  that  at  this  time  reached  the  colony,  how- 
ever, made  this  scheme  look  unattractive,  and  no  further 
action  was  taken  in  the  matter.2  The  French,  also,  began 
to  let  the  supply  of  European  goods  suited  to  the  Spanish 
traffic  diminish,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  next  year  the  only 
thing  available  was  some  lace  that  was  far  too  expensive  to 
offer  much  chance  of  sale.8  The  colonial  officials  asked 
that  the  storehouses  be  replenished  at  once,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  arrival  of  Spanish  merchants  might  be  ex- 
pected at  any  time.  In  November,  a  trader  reached  Louis- 
iana, but,  on  finding  there  no  merchandise  to  buy,  left  after 
receiving  an  assurance  that  there  would  be  goods  awaiting 
him  on  his  return.  He  came  again  in  July  of  the  next  year 
only  to  discover  the  storehouse  still  empty.  Therefore  he 
demanded  that  the  French  pay  him  550  piastres  for  breach 
of  agreement.  He  departed  with  a  promise  to  return  in 
November  or  sooner  if  the  Louisiana  officials  would  write 
him  at  Campeachy  when  the  European  merchandise  ar- 
rived. On  his  part  he  agreed  to  bring  with  him  some 
cochineal,  the  production  of  which  was  contemplated  as  a 
new  branch  of  industry  in  Louisiana.4 

In  June,  1 728,  another  Spanish  merchant  appeared,  a  fact 
that  greatly  embarrassed  the  provincial  officials  because  they 
had  nothing  to  sell  him,  excepting  some  scrap  iron  of  a 
rather  inferior  quality  for  which  the  Spaniard  offered  four 
piastres  a  quintal.  For  the  sake  of  keeping  the  trade  alive 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  CIS,  vol.  x,  fol.  150. 

*  Ibid.,  fol.  245. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  fol.  188. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xi,  fols.  54-56. 


396  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [396 

the  officials  felt  obliged  to  accept  the  offer.  They  accord- 
ingly sold  him  about  16,000  pounds  for  640  piastres.  Of 
this  sum  405  were  represented  by  sugar  which,  as  the  price 
charged  was  ten  sols  a  pound,  increased  somewhat  the  cost 
of  the  iron.1 

By  the  beginning  of  October,  1728,  the  supply  of  French 
merchandise  that  had  been  looked  for  had  been  placed  in 
the  Louisiana  storehouses  where  it  was  held  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  Spanish  traders.  The  officials  would  sell 
none  of  it  in  the  province  in  spite  of  the  prevailing  need. 
One  of  the  Company's  boats  brought  70,000  pounds  of 
merchandise  and  a  message  that,  if  more  was  required,  to 
keep  the  foreigners  in  the  colony  until  the  arrival  of  three 
other  ships  that  would  soon  be  on  the  way.2  According  to 
the  previous  agreement,  the  Spaniards  at  Campeachy  were 
notified  that  French  goods  valued  at  100,000  ecus  were  on 
hand.  They  were  requested,  furthermore,  to  bring  with 
them  some  cattle  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  so-called 
"  Ranier  "  tobacco  of  the  best  quality  which  would  bring 
in  Louisiana  not  less  than  two  reaux  a  pound.8 

The  war  that  was  rumored  in  1726  had  become  by  1728 
a  reality,  and  imposed  something  of  a  check  on  the  trade 
with  Mexico.  On  December  9,  in  order  to  remove  some 
of  the  obstacles,  it  was  proposed  to  continue  the  traffic  by 
means  of  Spanish  vessels  plying  between  Spanish  ports  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  local  governors,  to  be  sure,  did 
not  allow  French  boats  to  enter  the  harbors,  and  watched 
trading  permits  closely.  If  a  Spanish  merchantman  did 
not  return  to  port  within  the  time  limit,  both  vessel  and 
cargo  were  liable  to  confiscation  and  the  commander  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  54-56. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  117-118. 
8  Ibid.,  fols.  147-149. 


397]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO 

penal  service  in  the  galleys.  It  was  therefore  proposed  to 
establish  a  depot  for  French  goods  somewhere  along  the 
direct  route  from  St.  Augustine,  Pensacola,  Havana,  Cam- 
peachy,  Tuxpam  and  Tampico,  where  business  could  be 
done  without  loss  of  time  or  deviation  from  the  legitimate 
course.1  Nothing  however,  came  of  the  proposal. 

Meanwhile  the  "  ordonnateur  "  had  sent  letters  in  tripli- 
cate to  four  merchants  of  Vera  Cruz  and  Campeachy  en- 
closing a  statement  of  the  merchandise  then  in  the  Louis- 
iana storehouses  and  urging  them  to  take  immediate  ad- 
vantage of  the  opportunity.2  By  June,  1729,  the  officials 
had  grown  so  impatient  at  waiting  in  vain  for  the  coming  of 
the  Spanish  traders  that  they  resolved  to  carry  some  of 
their  goods  to  Vera  Cruz  direct,  under  the  pretext  of  in- 
forming the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  of  the  danger  that 
threatened  the  Florida  coast,  but  in  reality  to  do  business 
there.  Nothing  very  lucrative  was  the  outcome  of  the 
venture,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  period  in  which 
the  Company  of  the  Indies  controlled  Louisiana,  the  trade 
with  Mexico  seems  to  have  been  too  uninteresting  to  form 
any  part  of  the  correspondence  between  the  provincial  offi- 
cials and  the  home  government.3 

Although  in  the  instructions  to  the  governor  and  "  or- 
donnateur "  at  the  time  of  the  resumption  of  royal  rule  in 
Louisiana,  the  crown  laid  considerable  emphasis  on  the  im- 
portance of  the  trade  with  Mexico,  nothing  in  this  direction 
was  accomplished  during  the  first  year,  chiefly  because  of 
the  scarcity  of  goods  in  the  storehouses.4  The  home  gov- 
ernment, accordingly,  was  requested  to  remedy  this  defect 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xi,  fols.  175-176. 

1  Ibid.,  fol.  309. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xii,  fols.  61-63. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xiii,  fols.  16-17. 


398  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [398 

as  speedily  as  possible.  Much  of  the  lack  of  success  of  the 
Company  in  the  trade,  asserted  the  Louisiana  officials,  was 
due  to  the  disappointment  of  the  Spanish  merchants  at  not 
finding  on  their  arrival  at  New  Orleans  or  Mobile  the 
merchandise  that  had  been  promised  them.  Commerce,  in- 
deed, was  especially  difficult  to  revive  at  this  time  because 
commodities  could  be  secured  at  St.  Domingue  at  thirty  per 
cent  less  than  the  people  of  Louisiana  could  afford  to  sell 
them.1 

In  August,  1732,  a  storm  swept  over  the  Gulf  region 
causing  much  damage,  among  other  things  wrecking  a 
Spanish  vessel  off  the  coast  at  ten  leagues  from  the  Balise. 
The  ship  and  the  entire  cargo  were  lost  but  the  crew  of  120 
men  were  saved.  They  were  sent  to  New  Orleans  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  families  of  the  village  at  the  expense  of 
150  livres  a  day  to  the  colony.  Before  their  departure  the 
cost  of  their  maintenance  reached  15,842  livres.  Of  this 
amount  6,000  livres  was  paid  by  the  government  of  Pen- 
sacola  before  the  sailors  left  for  Vera  Cruz. 

The  vessel  that  carried  the  Spaniards  home  accordingly 
took  with  it  a  bill  for  9,842  livres  to  be  collected  from  the 
viceroy  of  New  Spain.  For  food  and  passage  an  additional 
expense  of  2,364  livres,  two  sols,  six  deniers  was  incurred. 
The  items  were  duly  presented  to  the  viceroy  who  at  the 
same  time  was  particularly  informed  of  the  good  treatment 
his  countrymen  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  people  of 
Louisiana.  The  French  hoped  in  return  the  viceroy  would 
not  only  pay  the  sum  expended  but  would  make  them  a 
loan  of  50,000  livres,  sell  them  10,000  pounds  of  lead  and 
allow  them  to  purchase  either  at  Vera  Cruz  or  Campeachy 
a  boat  of  about  seventy  tons  for  the  provincial  service. 
Some  encouragement  in  entering  upon  this  procedure  arose 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiv,  fol.  234. 


399]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO  399 

i 

from  the  fact  that  the  viceroy  already  had  written  to  the 
governor  of  Louisiana  offering  his  help  in  time  of  need. 

The  French  returned  to  New  Orleans  in  May,  1733,  with 
foodstuffs  and  ammunition  for  Pensacola.  Following  his 
instructions  the  captain  had  succeeded  in  purchasing  the 
boat  of  seventy  tons  but  had  not  secured  the  loan  nor  the 
lead.  As  to  the  loan  the  viceroy  declared  that  he  had  no 
assurance  that  the  obligation  would  be  recognized  by  the 
successor  of  the  present  governor  of  Louisiana,  should  the 
latter  leave  office  before  the  payment  had  been  effected.  He, 
however,  presented  the  captain  of  the  French  expedition 
with  thirty-five  quintals  of  lead  and  5,000  livres.  Of  this 
sum  the  governor  of  Louisiana  took  3,696  livres,  eighteen 
sols,  nine  deniers  for  the  cost  of  transportation  and  freight 
for  the  return  cargo ;  600  livres  and  350,  respectively,  were 
given  to  the  first  and  second  officers  in  charge  of  the  affair ; 
and  353  livres,  one  sol,  three  deniers  were  distributed 
among  the  crew.  The  amount  held  against  the  viceroy  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  Spanish  sailors  while  in  Louisiana 
was  given  in  payment  of  the  boat  that  was  purchased  by 
the  captain.  At  the  conference  with  the  viceroy  the  French 
had  endeavored  to  open  up  trade  between  Louisiana  and 
the  Spanish  ports  under  his  jurisdiction,  but  very  little  in 
that  direction  was  accomplished.1 

During  1733,  1734  and  1735,  despite  their  favorable  geo- 
graphical position,  the  French  were  not  at  all  successful 
in  promoting  commerce  with  Mexico.  They  had  been  com- 
pelled, also,  to  revise  the  opinion  about  Spanish  officials 
held  in  1699,  for  none  of  their  bribes  had  been  able  to  open 
a  single  port.  In  1736,  indeed,  treatment  meted  out  to 
French  crews  entering  Spanish  harbors  became  so  severe 
that  it  was  useless  to  send  any  more  vessels  thither.  The 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  7-10,  118-120,  122-124;  vol.  xvii, 
fols.  12-13. 


4oo  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [400 

sole  hope  left,  therefore,  lay  in  the  possibility  of  attracting 
Spanish  traders  to  Louisiana.  To  this  end  French  mer- 
chandise was  to  be  placed  in  the  storehouses  at  the  Balise 
and  Dauphin  Island,  which  were  almost  on  the  direct  route 
of  the  Spanish  vessels  making  their  circuit  of  the  Spanish 
ports  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  For  this  purpose  between 
40,000  and  50,000  pounds  of  merchandise  were  sent  from 
France.  When  the  colonial  officials  saw  the  commodities 
untouched,  they  became  impatient  and  despatched  a  boat 
from  Mobile  and  another  from  New  Orleans  to  Vera  Cruz 
in  the  hope  that  this  procedure  might  hasten  the  coming  of 
the  Spanish  traders.  The  latter  vessel  carried  a  permit 
from  Bienville  and  news  of  the  hostilities  of  certain  Indian 
tribes  who  were  bringing  Spanish  scalps  to  the  French  set- 
tlements. These  documents,  it  was  thought,  might  break 
down  the  opposition  of  the  Spaniards  long  enough  to  enable 
the  captains  to  dispose  of  their  cargoes.  The  governor  of 
Vera  Cruz  declined  absolutely  to  allow  either  ship  to  enter 
the  port.1  The  captain  from  Mobile  told  that  officer  that 
he  had  come  to  Vera  Cruz  for  the  benefit  of  the  Spanish 
post  at  Pensacola  which  was  much  in  need  of  supplies. 
This  plea  the  governor  remarked  was  only  a  pretext  for 
illicit  trade  and  declared  that  his  boat  would  be  confiscated 
if  he  did  not  leave  the  harbor  at  once.2 

In  1737,  the  situation  became  worse.  French  deserters 
were  allowed  to  make  their  escape  in  Spanish  boats  from 
Pensacola.3  Moreover  the  only  trade  that  seems  to  have 
come  to  Louisiana  during  the  year  did  not  brighten  the 
hopes  of  improved  trade  relations  when  the  Spaniards  de- 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  84-85;  vol.  xix,  fols.  208-209;  vol. 
xx,  fols.  52-56,  102-104;  vol.  xxi,  fols.  25-30. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  04-100. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  28-29. 


4OI  ]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO  4OI 

manded  reductions  in  the  price  of  all  French  merchandise, 
making  any  profit  for  the  seller  impossible.1  The  conditions 
seem  to  have  remained  unchanged  until  May,  1739,  when  a 
Spanish  vessel  from  Campeachy  anchored  off  Dauphin 
Island,  did  a  small  amount  of  trading,  and  proceeded  to 
New  Orleans  with  the  cargo  of  salt  and  logwood  and  3,000 
piastres.2  Spanish  interest  in  commerce  with  Louisiana 
was  apparently  increasing,  for  in  January,  1740,  a  ship 
of  that  nationality  touched  at  the  Balise,  whether  for  trad- 
ing purposes  or  because  of  bad  weather  is  not  known.3 

Improvement  in  the  traffic,  in  1741,  became  fairly 
marked.  For  the  most  part  this  was  due  to  the  war  then 
prevailing  between  Spain  and  England.  As  early  as  March 
three  or  four  vessels  had  come  to  Louisiana  from  Mexican 
ports.  Ill  luck  or  improvidence  still  pursued  the  French. 
They  had  to  send  the  Spaniards  away  empty-handed,  for 
there  was  nothing  in  the  storehouses  to  sell  them.  Hardly 
had  they  left  the  province  when  a  small  Spanish  bark  ar- 
rived with  four  merchants  on  board  possessing  among 
them  50,000  piastres  with  which  to  buy  French  merchan- 
dise. These  men  had  to  be  treated  in  like  fashion.4  The 
home  government,  thereupon,  was  urged  to  send  the  need- 
ful supplies  at  once.5  It  was  further  informed,  also,  that 
the  Spanish  ships  brought  large  quantities  of  piastres,  as 
well  as  cochineal,  logwood  and  other  commodities  ready 
for  sale.  One  of  the  boats,  it  was  stated,  stayed  three 
weeks  and  another  three  months  waiting  for  the  arrival  of 
French  goods,  but  were  obliged  to  leave  the  province,  tak- 

*-A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-4L 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xxiv,  f ol.  247. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxv,  fol.  143. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  127-130,  153-151. 
*  Ibid.,  fols.  150-151. 


402  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [402 

ing  their  piastres  along  with  them.1  Accordingly,  though 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1741  offered  some  prospects  of 
betterment  in  the  commercial  relations  with  Mexico,  its 
close  saw  almost  nothing  accomplished. 

Much  as  both  the  home  government  and  the  provincial 
authorities  realized  that  a  favorable  opportunity  had  ar- 
rived, they  were  unable  to  overcome  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  sending  merchandise  suited  to  the  trade  in  question. 
The  French  merchants  whom  the  crown  had  induced  to 
carry  the  commodities  to  Louisiana  demanded  such  exor- 
bitant prices  that  the  Spaniards  declined  to  pay  them.2  Just 
at  this  time  also  some  influential  men  of  Vera  Cruz  asked 
permission  to  send  their  sons  to  New  Orleans  to  learn  the 
French  language.  Two  boys  actually  came.  They  re- 
ceived a  cordial  welcome,  for  the  officials  professed  to  see 
in  the  scheme  the  possibility  of  strengthening  the  commer- 
cial ties  between  the  two  places.3  Nothing  further  came  of 
it.  Instead  the  trade  received  a  setback  from  the  French 
merchants  themselves  who  began  anew  to  carry  their  mer- 
chandise directly  to  the  Spanish  ports.* 

Despite  all  these  misfortunes  the  traffic  began  to  recover. 
In  1743  many  French  vessels  brought  to  Louisiana  goods 
that  were  readily  sold  to  the  Spaniards  for  cash.  One  of 
the  royal  ships  alone  carried  to  France  6,000  piastres  thus 
derived.  Too  many  boats,  however,  were  engaged  in  the 
trade,  hence  the  market  soon  was  glutted  with  French  mer- 
chandise.5 The  vessel  that  went  from  the  province  to  Vera 
Cruz,  on  the  other  hand,  met  with  little  success  because  the 

M.  N.,  C.t  Str.  C*8,  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  178-179. 

7  Ibid.,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  127-128;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxiv,  fols.  12-20. 

8  Ibid.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxvii,  fols.  27-29. 
4  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxvi,  fol.  2. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxviii,  fol.  61. 


403]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO  403 

trade  permits  were  apt  to  be  so  costly  as  to  rob  the  business 
of  its  legitimate  profits.  Regardless  of  this  circumstance, 
the  French  continued  to  send  boats  thither.  One  of  them 
carried  a  cargo  of  55,000  pounds,  from  the  sale  of  which  a 
profit  of  only  300  piastres  was  made.  With  returns  so 
small  as  this  the  French  could  not  afford  to  send  any  more 
cargoes  to  Mexico,  consequently  they  went  back  to  the  old 
plan  of  attracting  the  Spaniards  to  Louisiana.1  Vaudreuil, 
in  fact,  prohibited  such  shipments  altogether. 

The  war  that  began  in  1744  stimulated  the  trade  to  the 
extent  of  1,000,000  piastres  a  year.2  In  1746,  it  was  re- 
ported to  the  home  government  that,  next  to  the  islanders, 
Spanish  merchants  were  most  actively  represented  in  Louis- 
iana commerce.  Furnishing  a  market  for  the  abundant 
colonial  products,  they  bought  large  amounts  of  flour,  corn, 
rice  and  other  commodities  for  which  they  paid  in  cash.8 

During  1747  and  1748,  the  Spanish  vessels  continued  to 
leave  behind  them  considerable  sums  in  Spanish  money  and 
quantities  of  logwood  and  sugar.4  Governor  Vaudreuil, 
however,  believed  the  trade  capable  of  further  expansion. 
He  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence  with  the  Span- 
ish governors  of  the  posts  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  friendly  relations  even  with  the  vice- 
roy of  New  Spain,  which  the  governor  had  not  hesitated 
to  turn  to  advantage.5  So  as  to  aid  in  the  development  of 
trade  with  Tampico,  Campeachy,  Vera  Cruz  and  other 
Spanish  ports,  he  advised  the  home  government  to  be  less 
strict  in  dealing  with  deserting  sailors,  because  leniency  in 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  62-63. 

1  The  Present  State  of  the  Country,  etc.,  1744,  PP-  9-™,  34- 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C",  vol.  xxx,  fols.  110-112,  273. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxi,  fols.  74-75 ;  vol.  xxxii,  f ol.  22. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  60-71. 


404  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [404 

this  respect  was  the  only  available  way  to  obtain  crews  for 
the  vessels  sent  thither  from  Louisiana.1 

Throughout  the  two  years  following,  Vaudreuil  con- 
tinued his  correspondence  with  the  Spanish  governors  as 
before.  Since  the  establishment  of  peace  these  officials 
had  become  somewhat  reserved  in  manner  but  their  atti- 
tude did  not  deter  the  Louisiana  governor  from  proffering 
all  sorts  of  service  or  aid.2  As  a  result  of  Vaudreuil's  tact 
and  perseverance  New  Orleans  became  somewhat  of  a 
centre  for  Spanish  trade.  To  it  came  merchants  from 
Cuba,  St.  Augustine,  Pensacola,  St.  Bernard  Bay,  St. 
Joseph  Bay,  Porto  Bello,  Santa  Maria  del  Darien  and  Car- 
tagena to  buy  cloth,  lace,  wine,  brandy,  and  other  merchan- 
dise from  France,  together  with  tobacco,  indigo,  hemp, 
rice,  lumber,  masts,  pitch,  tar,  peltry,  and  other  products 
of  Louisiana  itself.  In  order  to  enable  the  settlers  more  or 
less  remote  from  the  capital  to  derive  greater  advantage 
from  the  traffic,  it  was  proposed  to  send  special  boats  up  the 
river  to  carry  their  wares  to  New  Orleans.  This  would  en- 
hance the  value  of  their  share  in  the  piastres,  smoking 
tobacco,  cocoa  and  logwood  brought  by  the  Spaniards.8 

As  early  as  1750*  the  number  of  Spanish  vessels  coming 
to  the  province  fell  off  because  the  French  ships  had  glutted 
the  Spanish  colonial  market  with  European  merchandise 
that  consequently  had  to  be  sold  at  a  low  price.  The  Span- 
ish governors  also  had  begun  again  to  refuse  the  French 
boats  admittance  to  ports  under  their  jurisdiction.  These 
circumstances  afforded  some  hope  that  the  tide  would  turn 
once  more  toward  Louisiana.  Four  or  five  vessels,  at  all 
events,  came  from  Campeachy  and  took  on  large  quantities 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fol.  128. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  64-66. 

3  Ibid.,  fols.  166-167.  *  Supra,  p.  402. 


405]  TRADE  WITH  MEXICO  405 

of  dry-goods  and  lumber  which  they  carried  to  the  Spanish 
West  Indies.  In  1752  there  were  four  Spanish  vessels  in  the 
province  with  cargoes  of  tobacco  and  logwood  which  they 
exchanged  for  European  goods.1 

As  France  was  now  drifting  toward  another  war  with 
England,  for  the  next  two  years  not  much  information  is 
available  about  trade  with  Mexico.  Mobile,  it  seems,  en- 
joyed a  fairly  lucrative  commerce  with  Spaniards  who, 
under  the  pretext  of  going  to  Pensacola,  came  from  various 
ports  of  Mexico,  anchored  off  Dauphin  Island,  and  bought 
up  cargoes  of  French  merchandise,  thereby  greatly  increas- 
ing the  amount  of  gold  and  silver  in  local  circulation.2  This 
illicit  traffic  was  not  interfered  with.  It  seemed  better  to 
tolerate  it,  than  by  attempting  to  prevent  it,  to  throw  it  into 
the  hands  of  the  English.  The  trade  also  had  the  further 
advantage  of  increasing  considerably  the  chances  of  com- 
munication with  the  home  government  when  war  actually 
came  on.3 

The  commercial  activities  of  Mobile  in  this  respect  had 
developed  rather  rapidly  since  1748.  At  the  beginning 
those  who  entered  upon  them  did  so  with  a  small  capital 
in  the  shape  of  French  merchandise.  This  stock  they  sold 
to  Spaniards  who  occasionally  anchored  near  the  village. 
The  sale  usually  netted  good  returns,  a  fact  that  enabled 
the  participants  to  increase  their  stock  for  the  next  oppor- 
tunity to  do  business.  Before  the  beginning  of  hostilities 
with  England,  however,  the  authorities  at  New  Orleans 
tried  to  draw  some  of  the  traffic  to  the  capital.  It  seems 
natural  enough  that  they  should  attempt  it  when  Mobile 
was  enjoying  a  trade  valued  at  50,000  piastres  a  year.4 

1  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  250,  277. 
*Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  270. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvii,  fol.  58 ;  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  209. 
4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  50;  vol.  xl,  fols.  246-247. 


406  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [406 

During  the  war  Spanish  vessels  came  to  Louisiana  from 
time  to  time,  but  the  number  naturally  tended  steadily  to 
decrease  as  hostilities  progressed.  On  August  28,  1758,  it 
is  stated  that  four  months  had  elapsed  since  a  boat  had  been 
sent  to  Vera  Cruz  for  a  supply  of  ammunition  and  that 
nothing  as  yet  had  been  heard  from  it1  In  May,  1759,  a 
cargo  of  250  hogsheads  of  salt  from  Campeachy  was  sold 
at  New  Orleans  z  for  twenty  deniers  a  pound.3  As  the  war 
advanced  to  the  disadvantage  of  France,  the  trade  neces- 
sarily became  more  and  more  disturbed.  In  1760,  the  mer- 
chants from  Mexico  found  it  correspondingly  difficult  to 
cash  the  bills  of  exchange  they  received  in  Louisiana,  hence 
accepted  them  only  with  the  greatest  reluctance.  This  cir- 
cumstance in  turn  hindered  efforts  to  obtain  ammunition 
for  the  province  from  the  Spaniards.*  The  traffic  seems 
not  to  have  been  entirely  destroyed,  however,  for  in  1764 
an  English  estimate  put  the  annual  value  of  the  trade  with 
Vera  Cruz,  Campeachy,  Havana  and  New  Orleans  at 
60,000  pounds.5 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  F»,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  34-35. 

2  Supra,  p.  220. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  101-105. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cxiii,  pt.   i,   fols.  276-277;   A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol. 
10764,  fols.  243-245. 

5  B.  of  T.  Papers,  Oct.  31,  1764,  Ala.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans.  Montgomery, 
Ala. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS 

WHEN  the  French  took  possession  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  they  believed  that  overland  commerce  with  Mexico 
would  enable  them  to  share  in  the  wealth  of  the  gold  and 
silver  mines  located  somewhere  in  that  vast  province  of 
Spain.1  Excepting  for  an  exploring  expedition  in  1701, 
made  up  of  twelve  Canadians  under  the  command  of  Juch- 
ereau  de  St.  Denis,  and  despatched  by  Bienville  to  the  Red 
river,  where  they  spent  six  months  without  acquiring  any 
information  concerning  the  Spaniards,2  nothing  in  that 
direction  was  done  until  Louisiana  passed  under  the  con- 
trol of  Crozat,  one  of  whose  projects  was  the  building-up 
of  a  trade  with  the  Spanish  settlements  of  the  interior.3 

In  1712,  Governor  Cadillac  furnished  a  party  of  twenty- 
two  men  under  the  leadership  of  St.  Denis  with  passports, 
gave  them  five  canoes  laden  with  10,000  pounds  of  mer- 
chandise and  sent  them  on  a  trading  expedition  to  New 
Mexico.4  The  party  passed  up  the  Red  river  as  far  as 
practicable,  and  then  proceeded  across  country  to  the  Span- 
ish settlements  in  New  Mexico.  Informed  of  the  object 
of  the  visit  the  local  officials  declined  to  give  any  definite 
reply  until  the  matter  had  been  laid  before  their  provincial 
superiors,  an  attitude  necessitating  a  long  delay.  The  next 

1  Margry,  vol.  ii,  pp.  360-364. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  34. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  S£r.  C19,  vol.  iii,  fols.  223-224,  230;  La  Harpe,  p.  113. 

4  La  Harpe,  p.  116;  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  495. 

407]  407 


408  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [408 

year  found  St.  Denis  still  awaiting  an  answer  to  his  pro- 
posal. When  vouchsafed  it  was  in  effect  a  refusal  unless 
he  could  obtain  permission  from  the  viceroy  at  the 
city  of  Mexico.  Here  the  French  leader  stayed  a  long 
time,  but  all  his  efforts  were  fruitless.  Finally  he  was 
allowed  to  return  to  Louisiana  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
three  years.1  On  hearing  the  results  of  his  efforts,  Gov- 
ernor Cadillac  was  convinced  that  trade  could  not  be  opened 
in  this  fashion.  He  therefore  contented  himself  with 
ordering  a  fort  to  be  erected,  1717,  on  the  Red  river  among 
the  Natchitoches  Indians  so  as  to  prevent  the  Spaniards 
from  encroaching  upon  French  territory.2 

St.  Denis  had  a  different  opinion.  In  conjunction  with 
several  Canadians  he  formed  a  commercial  company,  pur- 
chased of  Crozat's  agents  60,000  pounds  of  merchandise, 
which  it  was  proposed  to  sell  to  the  Spaniards  in  the  prov- 
ince of  New  Leon,  and  on  October  10,  1716,  set  out  for 
the  viceroyalty  where  he  arrived  in  October  of  the  next 
year,  sold  the  goods  at  a  good  price  to  some  merchants  of 
Boca  de  Leon  and  started  on  the  return  to  Mobile,  arriv- 
ing there  October  25,  1717.  En  route  he  was  seized,  held 
as  a  spy  and  later  sent  in  chains  to  the  city  of  Mexico. 
Here  he  was  forced  to  remain  until  1719  when  he  was 
able  to  make  his  way  back  to  Louisiana.  The  misfor- 
tune befell  him  because  at  the  time  of  his  visit  in  1716 
an  agreement  he  had  made  with  the  viceroy  had  become 
ineffective  through  the  death  of  that  functionary  and  the 
unfriendly  attitude  of  his  successor  toward  the  French.3 
The  activity  of  this  pioneer,  together  with  the  building  of 
the  post  on  the  Red  river,  nevertheless  alarmed  the  Span- 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  496-505,  526-537;  La  Harpe,  pp.  129-131. 

J  La  Harpe,  p.  131. 

8  Ibid.,  pp.  130,  134,  135-139,  US- 


409]         TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS  409 

iards  who,  as  a  means  of  defense  against  further  encroach- 
ments, on  January  29,  1717,  established  the  post  of  Adayes 
on  the  frontier  not  far  from  Natchitoches.1 

In  1719,  the  leadership  in  the  development  of  trade  with 
the  Rio  Grande  settlements  was  given  to  Benard  de  La 
Harpe.2  To  this  end  he  sent  to  the  governor  of  Texas  his 
passport  and  a  letter  in  which  he  expressed  his  desires  in 
the  matter.  These  he  set  forth  with  deference  yet  at  the 
same  time  with  considerable  confidence,  as  had  been  sug- 
gested to  him  by  the  Spanish  missionary  at  Adayes.  On 
May  28,  1719,  La  Harpe  received  a  reply  stating  that  he 
was  intruding  upon  Spanish  territory  which  he  was  com- 
manded to  leave  at  once.  Trade  with  the  Spanish  in  Texas, 
La  Harpe  now  saw,  was  not  feasible  as  yet;  accordingly  a 
second  letter  he  despatched  to  the  governor  on  June  9  was 
much  less  complimentary  in  tone.  In  it  he  asserted  that 
Texas  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  viceroyalty  of  New  Spain. 
As  his  honor  well  knew,  that  province  was  drained  by  rivers 
flowing  into  the  Mississippi,  a  fact  which  by  La  Salle's 
work  in  1684  made  it  a  part  of  the  possessions  of  the  king 
of  France.8 

Failing  in  his  attempt  to  persuade  the  governor,  La 
Harpe  next  turned  his  attention  to  Father  Marcello,  the 
missionary  at  Assinais,  and  on  April  26,  1719,  wrote  him 
as  follows :  Reverend  Father,  ..."  Your  zeal  as  I  well 
know  is  very  great,  but  at  times  you  must  need  help. 
Touched  by  these  things  and  having  in  my  possession  the 
means  to  aid  you  in  your  work  of  the  spreading  of  the 
Gospel,  I  make  you  the  following  offer.  You  write  to  your 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  139. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  144-146;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  241-242. 

8  La  Harpe,  pp.  189-192,  193-194,  196-197;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  253, 
262-267,  274-276. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [4IO 

friends  in  New  Mexico  and  the  kingdom  of  Leon  that  they 
can  find  at  Nassonites  or  Natchitoches  all  the  European 
merchandise  of  which  they  have  need,  and,  too,  at  reason- 
able prices,  which  will  undoubtedly  enable  them  to  sell  the 
merchandise  at  a  good  profit.  With  these  merchants  I  will 
make  an  arrangement  that  you  are  to  have  five  per  cent  on 
all  sales."  "  This,"  La  Harpe  continued,  "  will  be  a  sure 
means  of  establishing  a  trade  between  the  two  settlements, 
thereby  rendering  great  service  to  many  persons  who  other- 
wise for  a  long  time  would  be  deprived  of  all  European 
merchandise.  Moreover,  this  trade  will  make  it  possible 
for  you  to  establish  your  mission  solidly."  La  Harpe  then 
asked  the  missionary  to  sell  him  ten  cows  and  two  bulls 
which  he  proposed  to  pay  for  with  corn  and  beans.  Along 
with  this  letter  La  Harpe  sent  the  missionary  a  present  of 
ten  pieces  of  Bretagne  and  one  of  damask  in  order  to  in- 
sure a  favorable  reply.1 

On  May  24,  1719,  Father  Marcello  replied  to  La  Harpe 
thus :  ..."  It  is  not  proper  for  a  priest  to  engage  in  trade. 
I  propose,  therefore,  that  our  correspondence  be  kept 
secret,  especially  since  I  am  on  very  friendly  terms  with 
the  Spanish  officials.  The  correspondence  which  you  pro- 
pose to  open,  however,  meets  with  my  approval  and  I  shall 
write  my  friends  of  your  wishes."  The  missionary  then 
closed  his  letter  with  an  assurance  that  he  would  keep  La 
Harpe  informed  of  "  what  passes  "  and  a  promise  to  send 
him  four  cows  and  a  bull,  all  the  animals  that  he  at  the  time 
could  provide.2 

So  far  as  the  records  show  the  correspondence  ended 
here.  What  trade  grew  out  of  it  there  seems  to  be  no  way 
of  determining.  Evidence,  however,  is  available  that,  if  the 

1  Margry,  pp.  268-269 ;  La  Harpe,  pp.  190-191. 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  274-275;  La  Harpe,  pp.  194-195. 


4II]         TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS  411 

French  on  the  lower  Mississippi  were  much  interested  in 
the  settlements  on  the  Red  river,  it  came  more  from  hopes 
than  from  realities,  so  far  as  trade  was  concerned.  At  all 
events  many  of  the  settlers  were  anxious  to  accompany  La 
Harpe  in  the  belief  they  would  be  able  quickly  to  make  their 
fortunes.  Most  of  them  were  not  inclined  to  take  up  agri- 
culture as  a  means  of  developing  trade,  and  when  pressed 
to  do  so  deserted.  The  Indians,  however,  supported  La 
Harpe,  and  captured  and  brought  back  a  majority  of  the 
fugitives.1 

Taking  up  the  project  launched  by  St.  Denis  and  La 
Harpe,  in  1720,  the  Company  of  the  Indies  proposed  to 
establish  a  post  on  St.  Bernard  Bay,  where  they  could  put 
in  a  supply  of  merchandise  to  be  used  in  promoting  com- 
merce with  the  Spaniards  located  near  the  upper  waters  of 
the  rivers  that  flow  into  that  bay.  Up  stream  at  a  spot 
most  conveniently  situated  a  second  post  was  to  be  built. 
From  this  point  the  French  proposed  to  enter  into  alliances 
with  the  Indians  of  the  region  and  use  them  as  guides  to 
lead  the  way  directly  to  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of 
Mexico.  Moreover,  it  was  asserted,  French  merchandise 
carried  to  the  Spaniards  would  help  operations  very  greatly, 
since  all  kinds  of  European  goods  were  scarce  in  the  in- 
terior settlements.3 

The  post  on  St.  Bernard  Bay  was  never  erected,  but  by 
1720  that  at  Natchitoches  had  thirty-three  Frenchmen, 
thirty-four  negroes  and  six  Indian  slaves.  The  colonists 
raised  wheat,  corn,  rice,  beans,  tobacco,  melons,  potatoes 
and  vegetables,  and  secured  from  the  Indians  peltry  and 
bear's  oil  for  export.  With  these  commodities  they  man- 
aged to  do  a  considerable  amount  of  business.  Corn  and 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  270;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  iii,  pp.  272-273. 
*  A.  N.,  C.,  SSr.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  22;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  233,  336. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [4I2 

beans  sold  at  the  French  post  at  sixteen  livres  a  barrel  and 
tobacco  at  thirty  sols  a  pound.  At  Adayes  they  sold  annu- 
ally about  200  barrels  of  corn,  sixty  of  beans  and  300 
pounds  of  tobacco.  For  them  they  were  paid  in  silver  at 
the  following  prices:  corn  and  beans  at  three  piastres  a 
barrel  and  tobacco  at  fifteen  sols  a  pound.  The  French, 
however,  had  only  a  slight  chance  apparently  of  increasing 
the  traffic  in  the  face  of  the  potentialities  represented  at 
Adayes  by  two  plows  and  some  ground  already  under  cul- 
tivation. Besides  the  trade  in  colonial  products,  there  was 
a  small  business,  amounting  to  about  200  piastres  a  year, 
done  in  European  goods.  The  reason  for  it  was  the  in- 
ferior quality  and  the  high  price  of  French  merchandise 
compared  with  what  was  offered  in  competition  by  the  Eng- 
lish traders.1 

About  this  itme  the  English  received  an  order  to  furnish 
450  piastres  worth  of  goods  to  each  of  the  100  soldiers  sta- 
tioned at  Adayes  who  were  no  longer  to  be  paid  in  silver. 
On  the  wares  thus  provided  it  was  claimed  that  the  Spanish 
commandant  made  a  profit  of  at  least  600  per  cent.  Since 
the  viceroy  was  willing  to  tolerate  the  abuse,  from  this 
time  onward  the  men  of  the  garrison  had  no  money  with 
which  to  buy  from  the  French,  even  had  their  goods  been 
more  desirable  than  the  English  articles.  Accordingly, 
while  this  agreement  with  the  English  lasted,  the  trade  with 
Natchitoches  in  this  respect  was  reduced  almost  to  noth- 
ing. Even  after  the  expenditure  of  very  considerable  sums 
for  the  purpose  of  "  closing  the  eyes  of  justice  "  the  Eng- 
lish, it  seems,  were  able  to  undersell  the  French,  and  no 
improvement  in  the  situation  could  be  expected  until  the 
French  could  lower  the  price  and  better  the  quality  of  their 
merchandise.  This  reduction  was  impossible,  due  to  the 
long  distance  the  goods  had  to  be  carried  on  pack-mules.2 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fols.  50-51. 

2  Ibid.,  fols.  51-52;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  231-232. 


413]         TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS  4x3 

St.  Denis,  the  one  man  in  Louisiana  who  was  at  all  well 
fitted  to  deal  with  the  situation,  the  Company  now,  1721, 
placed  in  charge  of  the  post  at  Natchitoches  with  power 
over  the  surrounding  territory.  He  had  as  his  partner  in 
this  enterprise  Weillart  d'Anvilliers,  chief  clerk  of  the  post, 
who  was  to  share  with  him,  equally,  five  per  cent  on  all 
sales  of  merchandise  made  to  the  Spaniards.  Just  what 
they  accomplished  during  their  term  of  office,  the  former 
remaining  until  1744,  it  seems  impossible  definitely  to 
ascertain.1  In  1722,  however,  a  "  visitador  general ",  in 
the  person  of  Captain  Antonio  Cobian  Busto,  made  a  tour 
of  the  viceroyalty  in  order  to  investigate  the  affairs  of  the 
interior  provinces,  and  found  a  number  of  Spaniards  en- 
gaged in  illicit  traffic  with  the  French  of  Louisiana.  He 
reported  the  fact  to  the  viceroy  who  the  next  year  received 
an  order  from  the  king  of  Spain  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  The 
same  year  the  governor  of  the  province  issued  an  order 
meant  to  regulate  trade  with  "  gentile  tribes  ".  Governor 
Bustamante  affirmed  that  New  Mexico  traders  went  to 
Louisiana  where  they  bought  annually  goods  worth 
$12,000.  The  governor's  prohibitory  command,  April  3, 
1723,  was  to  the  effect  that  "  The  people  were  allowed  to 
trade  with  gentiles  who  came  to  Taos  and  Pecos,  but  some 
were  accustomed  to  go  out  in  the  plains  to  meet  them  ",* 
the  latter  act  evidently  being  the  unpardonable  sin.  The 
remoteness  of  these  provinces  made  it  exceedingly  difficult 
to  fulfill  the  royal  wishes  and  irregularities  of  the  sort 
probably  continued.  At  any  rate  in  1725  a  small  trade  was 
still  carried  on  between  Natchitoches  and  the  Spaniards  of 
New  Mexico.3 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xiii,  fol.  66;  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  222. 
*  Bancroft,  Hist,  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  pp.  238-239. 
3  A.,  A.  £..,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  26. 


4!4 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 


In  1731,  the  officials  of  Louisiana  recommended  that  the 
home  government  send  merchandise  for  the  Mexican  trade 
but  Natchitoches  was  not  mentioned  especially  as  one  of 
the  posts  to  receive  it.1  By  1733,  however,  they  were  con- 
vinced that  traffic  on  a  scale  of  any  size  was  practically  im- 
possible on  account  of  the  strong  opposition  and  great  ac- 
tivity against  it  shown  by  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain.2  Two 
years  later  the  trade  with  Adayes  through  Natchitoches 
was  said  to  be  worth  between  2,000  and  3,000  piastres  an- 
nually. However  the  priest  at  the  former  post  now  asked 
Father  Beauboise  at  the  latter  to  send  him  a  quantity  of 
cloth,  church  ornaments,  flour,  wine  and  brandy.  To  use 
this  request  as  a  means  of  expanding  trade  in  general  in- 
volved great  risk  from  seizure  by  Indians  and  Spaniards 
alike  who  were  apt  to  treat  intruders  with  great  severity. 
Therefore  the  French  were  of  the  opinion  that,  to  be  pro- 
fitable, the  necessary  dealings  would  have  to  be  carried  on 
entirely  by  the  Spaniards  themselves  at  Natchitoches.3  As 
the  latter  could  not  be  induced  to  go  there  in  any  consider- 
able numbers,  development  in  this  direction  would  be  very 
slow.  In  1737,  in  fact,  the  father  at  Adayes  had  not  re- 
ceived any  of  the  supplies  asked  for.*  Up  to  this  time  all 
restrictions  on  the  traffic  had  come  from  the  Spaniards. 
This  year,  learning  of  the  existence  of  a  small  trade  in 
meat  between  Natchitoches  and  Adayes,  the  French  offi- 
cials forbade  it.  Like  many  ordinances  of  the  time  the  pro- 
hibition was  so  poorly  enforced  that  substantially  no  change 
in  the  situation  took  place.5 

The  death  of  St.  Denis,  1744,  was  a  blow  to  the  commer- 

1  A,  N.,  C.,  Sir.  C«,  vol.  xiii,  fol.  13. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  84-85. 
1  Ibid.,  vol.  xx.  fols.  52-53. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-38. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  256-260  ;  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Oct.  30,  1737. 


415]         TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS 

cial  relations  between  Louisiana  and  the  interior  settle- 
ments of  Mexico.  Related  by  marriage  to  the  local  offi- 
cials, he  had  always  been  able  to  carry  on  some  trade  there.1 
The  commandant's  influence  with  those  at  Adayes,  how- 
ever, was  much  less.  Some  business  was  still  done  but 
after  1747,  when  Spanish  troops  were  paid  with  merchan- 
dise from  Mexico,  opportunities  for  enlarging  it  were 
scanty  indeed.2 

Under  these  circumstances  Vaudreuil,  in  1748,  arranged 
with  the  viceroy  for  an  exchange  of  deserters  at  Natchi- 
toches  and  Adayes,  respectively,  a  scheme  that  the  gover- 
nor believed  would  eventually  lead  to  an  increase  in  the 
trade.3  Commerce  with  the  whole  of  the  viceroyalty  pass- 
ing through  Natchitoches  at  this  time  was  worth  a  little 
less  than  14,500  livres  a  year.*  Vaudreuil  left  Louisiana 
in  1752  without  witnessing  any  material  improvement  in 
the  situation.  Nor  were  matters  any  better  under  his  suc- 
cessor. 

So  far  as  New  Mexico  proper  was  concerned,  as  early 
as  1703,  twenty  Canadians  started  thither  from  the  Illinois 
country  with  the  idea  of  trading  with  the  Spaniards  for 
piastres  and  to  find  out  what  they  could  concerning  the 
mines  of  New  Mexico.5  The  attempt  ended  in  failure. 
Two  years  later  some  "  voyageurs  "  from  the  upper  Miss- 
ouri reached  the  Illinois  country  where  they  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  Mexico,  which, 
however,  was  too  vague  to  arouse  French  activity  in  that 
direction.6 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  269-270. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  f ol.  249 ;  vol.  xxxi,  f  ol.  188. 
8  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  f  ol.  70. 

4  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fol.  242. 
8  Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  180. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  iBi-.A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  i,  fol.  502. 


4I6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [4I6 

For  a  while  no  further  efforts  were  made  there.  In 
1721,  however,  interest  in  the  project  was  revived  by  the 
news  from  the  Indians  of  the  area  that  200  Spanish  sol- 
diers had  tried  to  make  an  expedition  overland,  with  the 
object,  as  the  French  surmised,  of  seizing  the  Illinois  coun- 
try. They  were  driven  back  and  finally  destroyed  by  hos- 
tile Indians.  As  soon  as  the  commandant  of  the  Illinois 
country  heard  of  the  expedition  he  sent  out  a  party  of  men 
in  search  of  the  route  traversed  by  the  Spaniards,  hoping 
that  it  would  lead  to  New  Mexico.1  Though  unsuccessful, 
the  attempt  suggested  to  Governor  Bienville  the  desirability 
of  constructing  Fort  Orleans  on  the  Grand  river.2  In  1723, 
some  trade  with  the  Spaniards,  probably  a  mere  exchange 
of  merchandise  for  horses  effected  through  Indian  agents, 
was  carried  on  at  this  post.3  Nevertheless  there  is  a  possi- 
bility that  the  traffic  in  horses  was  entered  upon  directly 
with  the  Spaniards  themselves,  for  they  very  early  brought 
horses  to  sell  to  the  French  at  Natchez.4  Whatever  its 
nature,  the  commerce  at  Fort  Orleans  did  not  prosper,  and 
it  was  even  thought  advisable  to  abandon  the  post  alto- 
gether or  to  make  of  it  simply  a  mission  station.5 

For  a  while  there  seems  to  have  been  no  interest  among 
the  French  of  the  Illinois  country  in  finding  the  way  to 
New  Mexico.  On  July  24,  1739,  however,  a  party  of  men 
from  that  part  of  Louisiana  reached  Santa  Fe.  The  route 
was  long  and  difficult,  nine  pack-horses  and  their  burdens 
being  lost  in  making  the  trip.  The  French  still  had  mer- 
chandise enough  left  to  make  the  experiment  that  had 
brought  them  to  New  Mexico,  and  to  assure  for  themselves 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  i,  p.  386. 

2  Supra,  p.  30. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  vi,  fol.  287;"Margry,  vol.  vi,  p.  387. 
*  Dumont,  vol.  i,  p.  81. 
5  Supra,  p.  30. 


417]          TRADE  WITH  NEW  MEXICO  AND  TEXAS 

friendly  treatment  during  their  stay.  They  were  lodged 
in  Spanish  homes  and  were  invited  to  eat  at  Spanish  tables.1 

While  no  great  advance  in  the  trade  was  effected,  some 
interest  in  it  was  aroused.  The  vicar  and  ecclesiastical 
judge  of  the  province  soon  after  the  departure  of  the 
Frenchmen  wrote  to  the  priest  at  Natchitoches  declaring 
that  the  idea  appealed  to  him.  He  said  that  his  people 
were  without  money,  but  that  if  there  were  a  possibility  of 
securing  merchandise  from  Louisiana  he  felt  certain  that 
he  could  induce  them  to  obtain  the  silver  needful  to  be 
given  in  exchange.  He  remarked  there  were  rich  mines  of 
that  metal  at  a  place  called  "  Chihuahua  ",  only  200  leagues 
from  his  mission,  where  Spanish  settlers  of  the  province 
went  to  trade.  If  they  could  procure  French  goods  he  was 
positive  they  could  easily  be  persuaded  to  work  these  mines 
for  all  the  silver  that  might  be  required.  On  his  own  ac- 
count he  observed  that  he  had  4,000  piastres  ready  to  make 
a  beginning  in  the  traffic.2 

Just  what  the  influence  of  this  expedition  on  com- 
merce between  New  Mexico  and  Louisiana  was,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  with  any  defmiteness.  Some  of  the  men 
engaged  in  it  returned  by  water  to  New  Orleans,  the  re- 
mainder went  back  to  the  Illinois  country  over  the  same 
route  by  which  they  had  come.  The  French,  therefore, 
succeeded  in  finding  the  way  overland  from  the  Illinois 
to  New  Mexico,  but  so  long  as  they  were  in  possession  of 
Louisiana  the  route  apparently  was  not  used  again.  Just 
at  the  end  of  the  French  period,  however,  they  rediscov- 
ered the  eastern  terminus  of  what  later  became  the  famous 
Santa  Fe  trail.8 

1  Margry,  vol.  vi,  pp.  455-464,  466-468. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  464-465. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  460,  466,  467,  468,  472. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 
TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA 

SHORTLY  after  Iberville  planted  this  colony,  he  sug- 
gested to  the  Spanish  commandant  at  Pensacola  the 
desirability  of  entering  into  commercial  relations.  As 
the  garrison  there  was  not  any  too  well  supplied  with 
food,  the  proposition  was  readily  accepted.  By  1702, 
therefore,  the  traffic  was  fairly  well  under  way,  the  com- 
modities for  the  purpose  being  drawn  from  the  royal 
storehouse.1 

On  March  10,  1704  the  French  supplied  Pensacola 
with  4000  pounds  of  flour.2  Notwithstanding  the  quan- 
tity sent  the  governor  of  that  post  was  at  Mobile,  April 
6,  beseeching  Bienville  to  send  a  boat  to  Vera  Cruz  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  foodstuffs  for  him.  The  vessel 
was  dispatched  May  18,  but  before  its  return  a  ship  from 
Havana  arrived  with  flour  on  board,  75  sacks  of  which 
were  hurried  off  at  once  to  Pensacola.3  Again  on  De- 
cember 20,  the  French  furnished  supplies  to  the  amount 
of  100  barrels  of  flour,  30  quintals  of  lard  and  some 
munitions  of  war.4 

In  September  1706  Mobile  provided  Pensacola  with 
100  quintals  of  flour.5  It  was  at  this  time  asserted  that 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxii,  pt.  2,  fol.  47;  Margry,  vol.  iv,  pp.  502, 
552 ;  La  Harpe,  pp.  71,  72. 
1  La  Harpe,  p.  83.  3  Ibid. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  86. 

5  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fol.  472. 

418  [418 


419]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA 

the  reason  why  Louisiana  was  always  so  short  of  food  was 
because  the  brothers  of  Iberville  drew  so  freely  on  the 
royal  supplies  to  promote  their  own  private  trade  at 
Pensacola.  Moreover  it  was  claimed  that  1217  livres, 
16  sols,  8  deniers  of  government  funds  thus  tar  had  been 
expended  in  boats  that  were  used  chiefly  in  furthering 
these  family  transactions.1 

For  two  months,  Bienville  asserted  on  February  20, 
1707,  the  food  supply  for  the  province  had  been  short. 
Nevertheless  he  was  obliged  to  share  what  there  was 
with  the  garrison  at  Pensacola,  where  the  scarcity  was 
much  greater.2  In  June  he  made  a  consignment  of  40 
quintals  of  flour.3  The  following  year  the  report  to  the 
home  government  showed  that  the  Louisiana  officials, 
since  1702,  had  furnished  Pensacola  with  something 
more  than  692  piastres'  worth  of  such  provisions.4  In 
August,  1709,  the  future  looked  dark.  There  were 
rations  at  Mobile  for  the  soldiers  for  only  two  months, 
and  the  Indians'  harvest  had  been  very  light.  The  Pen- 
sacola settlement  was  again  facing  starvation;  therefore, 
Bienville,  out  of  his  meagre  amount  of  provisions,  sent 
it  twenty  barrels,  which  was  all  that  could  be  spared.5 

The  next  year,  1710,  before  the  vessels  from  France 
arrived  to  replenish  the  royal  storehouse,  Bienville  sold 
to  Pensacola  150  barrels  of  corn,  at  from  four  to  five 
piastres  each,  thereby  forcing  the  French  soldiers  and 
settlers  into  the  woods  in  search  of  food.6  In  1711  the 

1  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  i,  fols.  472-501;  Ser.  B,  pt.  2,  vol.  xxxii, 
fol.  47- 

*  Ibid.,  Str.  C",  vol.  ii,  fol.  5. 

8  Ibennlle's  Journal,  Lib.  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 
4  A.  N.,  C.,  Sbr.  C«,  vol.  ii,  fols.  519-527. 
6  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  427-438. 
«  Ibid.,  fols.  519-527. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [42O 

Louisiana  officials  secured  at  Vera  Cruz  100  quintals  of 
flour  for  their  distressed  Spanish  neighbors,1  who  had  as 
yet  made  no  clearings  of  any  kind.  Besides  the  supplies 
thus  provided,  the  settlers  of  Louisiana  also  had  devel- 
oped a  small  traffic  with  Pensacola  in  vegetables,  corn, 
poultry  and  other  local  products.  Through  it  the  French 
colonists  obtained  a  certain  amount  of  silver  with  which 
to  provide  themselves  with  French  goods.3 

During  the  period  under  discussion,  1702-1712,  there 
were  times  when  Pensacola  was  in  a  position  to  furnish 
foodstuffs  to  the  French  settlement  on  the  Mobile.  In 
1703  the  governor  of  the  former  post,  learning  of  the 
dearth  of  provisions  at  the  latter,  despatched  messengers 
thither  with  the  information  that  three  vessels  laden  with 
food  from  Vera  Cruz  had  just  reached  him  and  carried 
sufficient  in  quantity  for  both  garrisons.  The  French 
were  rilled  with  joy  at  the  news.  For  some  time  they 
had  been  forced  to  subsist  chiefly  upon  fish  and  clams. 
A  boat  was  at  once  sent  to  Pensacola  where  Governor 
Andres  de  la  Riola  provided  them  with  what  they  wished. 
On  August  16,  1705,  also,  the  Louisiana  officials  learned 
from  the  captain  of  a  French  ship  that  had  stopped  at 
Pensacola  on  the  way  to  Mobile  that  the  Spanish 
governor  had  just  received  a  large  consignment  of  food 
from  Vera  Cruz  and  expressed  a  desire  to  share  it  with 
his  French  neighbors.4  In  1706  and  1707  both  garri- 
sons were  short  of  rations.  In  1708  a  shipment  of  food- 
stuffs was  dispatched  from  Mobile 5  to  Pensacola ;  in 
April  a  cargo  of  such  commodities  went  from  the  latter 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C*3,  vol.  ii,  fols.  641-645. 
J  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fols.  513-515. 

3  La  Harpe,  p.  80. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  91-92. 

5  Supra,  p.  419. 


42 1  ]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA  42 1 

to  the  former  post  ;T  in  June  the  direction  of  the  cargoes 
was  again  reversed.2 

On  his  arrival  in  the  province,  Governor  Cadillac  at 
once  ordered  trading  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  with 
any  one  but  the  Crozat  agents  stopped.  The  effect  of 
the  mandate,  if  any,  was  to  stimulate  it.  Under  the 
Crozat  rule,  furthermore,  the  French  at  Mobile  began  to 
deal  secretly  with  Spanish  ships  on  their  way  to  or  from 
Pensacola.  The  transactions  took  place  in  the  lower 
bay,  sometimes  off  Dauphin  Island.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Louisiana  officials  continued  to  provide  the  garrison 
at  Pensacola  with  food.3  In  September  1714  Crozat's 
agents  received  150  quintals  of  flour  from  France  and 
sold  30  barrels  (200  Ibs.  each)  of  it  to  the  Spaniards.4 
Early  in  1716  the  Louisiana  officials  sent  merchandise 
to  Pensacola  to  be  sold  to  Spanish  vessels  from  other 
ports  or  to  the  garrison  itself.5  The  neglect  of  the  post 
by  the  Spaniards,  in  fact,  caused  it  to  become  a  fairly 
good  market  for  the  Louisiana  settlers  as  well,  who  by 
1717  were  selling  supplies  there  to  the  amount  of  about 
12,000  piastres  annually.6 

The  Company  of  the  West  from  the  first  considered 
the  trade  between  Pensacola  and  Mobile  prejudicial  to 
the  growth  of  the  province  as  a  whole,  and  in  order  to 
check  it,  proposed  to  make  settlements  upon  the  Missis- 
sippi.7 The  war  that  broke  out  between  France  and 
Spain  in  1719,  however,  provided  a  much  more  effectual 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  102. 

2  Supra,  p.  420. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  469-476,  5"-5i3,  568-570. 
4  Ibid.,  fols.  SIS-SIS- 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  fol.  69. 
'  La  Harpe,  p.  140. 

7  Margry,  vol.  v,  pp.  547-549. 


422  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [422 

means  of  destroying  it.1  In  1723  the  traffic  was  resumed, 
and  some  of  the  larger  landowners  in  Louisiana  were 
making  plans  to  increase  it  by  the  addition  of  a  "ba- 
landre  "  and  a  half-galere  to  the  boat  service  on  the  river 
and  along  the  coast.2  Whether  this  was  done  is  not  clear. 
In  1725  at  all  events  it  is  stated  that  the  commerce  was 
being  carried  on  partly  by  sea  and  partly  by  land,  and  since 
the  close  of  the  war  had  grown  considerably.3  Governor 
Perier  was  favorably  disposed  toward  it,  and  on  October 
2,  1727,  had  a  talk  with  the  "pagador"  of  Pensacola, 
who  was  at  Mobile,  on  ways  and  means  of  furthering 
such  a  traffic.4 

As  commerce  had  not  advanced  with  sufficient  ra- 
pidity, the  crown  instructed  the  Louisiana  officials,  in 
1731,  to  put  it  on  the  freest  possible  basis.  Through 
such  a  course  of  action  presumably  much  Spanish  silver 
and  many  Spanish  vessels  would  find  their  way  to  the 
province.5  On  December  5,  the  governor  and  "ordon- 
nateur"  informed  the  home  government  that  the  com- 
mandant at  Pensacola  was  opposing  the  new  policy.6  In 
view  of  this  situation,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Mobile  were  not  raising  products  of  sufficient  value  to 
attract  the  Spaniards,  the  government  now  proposed  to 
use  flour  and  brandy  as  the  chief  articles  of  the  traffic.7 
The  bait  proved  to  be  effective,  at  least  to  some  extent. 
Pensacola  may  have  been  an  outpost  against  possible 
: encroachments  on  Florida,  but  its  garrison  apparently 

1  Margry,  vol.  v,  p.  569;  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  i,  p.  93. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  346. 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ix,  fols.  o-io;  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  26. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  x,  fol.  188. 

6  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Iv,  iol.  596. 

6  Ibid.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xiii,  fol.  13. 

T  Ibid.,  fol.  17. 


423]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA  423 

could  not  survive  without  provisions  from  its  French 
neighbors.  Whether  they  liked  it  or  not,  the  viceroy 
and  local  commandant  had  to  tolerate  what,  from  the 
Spanish  legal  standpoint,  was  certainly  illicit  trade. ' 

In  1733  the  Louisiana  officials  received  5,000  livres  in 
freight  charges  for  a  cargo  of  supplies  carried  on  one  of 
the  French  royal  ships  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Pensacola." 
On  the  whole,  however,  the  commercial  relations  between 
the  two  posts  in  question  were  too  scanty  to  arouse 
strong  opposition  from  Spanish  officials  or  great  enthu- 
siasm on  the  part  of  the  French.3  In  1735  the  trade  was 
worth  only  about  5,000  or  6,000  piastres  a  year.  It  was 
carried  on,  as  before,  partly  by  Spaniards  who  came  to 
Mobile ;  partly  by  the  French  who  went  to  Pensacola  in 
the  hope  of  doing  business  with  Spanish  vessels  that 
touched  there,  and  more  commonly  by  the  colonists  of 
Mobile  themselves  who  met  the  Spaniards  at  designated 
places  on  the  coast  and  there  exchanged  their  products 
for  silver.4 

With  the  employment  of  all  these  methods  the  garri- 
son, at  times,  was  not  able  to  keep  itself  above  extreme 
want.  Such  periods  of  distress  were  apt  to  occur  when 
Mobile  itself  was  very  short  of  food ;  even  in  such  cases 
the  French  felt  impelled  to  share  their  scant  supplies. 

Ties  of  friendship  made  it  impossible  to  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  Spanish  appeals.  During  these  years,  also,  the 
soldiers  at  Pensacola  were  quite  as  short  of  money  as 
they  were  of  provisions : 5  accordingly  in  1736  when  the 
commandant  received  his  allowance  from  the  viceroy, 
amounting  to  between  7,000  and  8,000  piastres,  it  was 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  82-88.  *  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xvii,  fols.  36-38;  vol.  xviii,  fols.  41-44. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  52-56. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  7-11,  25-30. 


424  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [424 

not  enough  to  pay  the  debts  of  something  more  than 
35,000  livres  already  contracted  at  Mobile.1  At  this 
time  also,  the  French  officials  held  a  bill  for  500  piastres 
against  the  same  post  for  freight  charges  on  supplies 
carried  by  French  ships  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Pensacola.2 
For  several  months  the  garrison  had  lived  on  what  it 
could  procure  at  Mobile ;  accordingly  the  French  had 
about  reached  a  point  where  their  financial  condition 
would  no  longer  allow  them  to  advance  food  to  the 
Spaniards  on  credit.  The  settlers  themselves  were  in- 
terested in  keeping  the  traffic  alive :  at  this  juncture  one 
of  the  well-to-do  men  there  began  to  furnish  supplies 
to  the  Spaniards.  With  consignments  of  this  sort  he 
sent  small  quantities  of  tar  and  pitch  to  Pensacola  which 
the  Spaniards  sold  to  merchants  of  their  nationality  who 
came  to  the  post.3  The  commandant  was  thus  enabled 
to  ward  off  the  danger  of  famine. 

During  the  next  two  years  owing  to  the  somewhat 
unfriendly  feeling  existing  between  France  and  Spain, 
the  viceroy  had  made  it  difficult  for  the  commandant  at 
Pensacola  to  meet  the  bills  as  they  fell  due.  In  1737, 
therefore,  the  only  person  in  the  province  who  would 
venture  to  advance  corn  on  credit  was  the  commandant 
at  Mobile.  He  also  had  taken  over  for  collection  the 
debts  the  Spaniards  had  contracted  with  private  persons 
at  Mobile.4  In  spite  of  the  indebtedness,  on  May  9,  1739 
a  further  request  for  provisions  came  from  Pensacola. 
A  Spanish  vessel  soon  appeared  at  Mobile;  but  its 
captain,  having  no  money  with  which  to  pay  for  what 
he  bought,  procured  the  signatures  of  the  commandant 
and  commissaire  of  Pensacola  as  security  for  the  pay- 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  94-100.  *  Ibid.,  fol.  100. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  25-30. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-41,  233-243. 


425]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA  425 

ment  of  the  bill.1  On  being  informed  of  the  circums- 
tance, the  home  government  cautioned  the  colonial  offi- 
cials to  insist  upon  good  security  for  whatever  was 
furnished  in  future  to  the  Pensacola  garrison,  lest  the 
Spaniards  be  led  to  believe  that  anythng  so  easily  pro- 
cured might  be  paid  for  entirely  at  their  own  conveni- 
ence, if  at  all.2 

In  1741  from  the  supplies  delivered  in  1737  the  treas- 
ury at  Mobile  could  boast  of  4,500  piastres  obtained 
from  guns,  powder,  and  cordage  furnished  to  the  garri- 
son at  Pensacola.3  Meanwhile  the  relations  between 
France  and  Spain  had  improved,  and  the  Spaniards  were 
meeting  their  obligations  more  promptly.  Spain  now 
being  at  war  with  England  was  well  disposed  to  renew 
its  friendship  with  France  and  to  obtain  military  supplies 
from  the  French  colonies.4  Though  the  conflict  made 
trade  conditions  easier  between  Mobile  and  Pensacola, 
the  possibilities  of  greater  development  remained  very 
small.  For  the  time  being  the  traffic  of  the  Spanish 
post  centered  almost  exclusively  at  the  French  village.5 
The  year  following,  the  opening  of  hostilities  changed 
the  situation  again.  This  was  evident  enough  when  the 
commandant  at  Pensacola  received  instructions  from  the 
viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  confiscate  all  vessels  from 
Louisiana  coming  thither  to  trade.  The  orders,  to  be 
sure,  were  not  obeyed,  because  the  Spanish  officer  found 
it  necessary  to  continue  drawing  supplies  from  Mobile, 
as  the  viceroy  had  made  no  arrangements  for  him  to 
obtain  them  elsewhere.  That  functionary  appears  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  Clt,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  246-249. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  bcx,  fol.  6. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xxvi,  fol.  149. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  149,  181. 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxiv,  fols.  17-18. 


426  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [426 

have  made  no  effort  to  punish  his  subordinate  for  the 
disobedience  shown,  except  possibly  to  render  payment 
difficult.1 

In  1743,  at  all  events,  the  governor  of  Louisiana  in- 
formed the  home  government  that  the  collection  of  bills 
due  from  Pensacola  had  caused  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 
On  this  account  he  had  decided  to  forbid  the  despatch 
of  any  more  supplies  to  that  post,  and  notified  its  com- 
mandant accordingly.  The  latter  thereupon  wrote  to 
the  officer  in  charge  at  Mobile  declaring  that  in  future 
he  would  be  ready  to  pay  cash  or  give  food  security  for 
anything  furnished  him  from  the  French  province.  This 
assurance,  it  seems,  was  not  to  take  effect  immediately, 
for  he  stated  that  the  allowance  from  the  viceroy  had  not 
yet  arrived.  As  the  Spanish  soldiers  undoubtedly  were 
in  need,  the  commandant  at  Mobile  sent  on  some  provi- 
sions notwithstanding.2  The  governor's  ordinance,  is- 
sued on  August  14,  therefore,  was  not  heeded  from  the 
outset ;  nor  was  much  effort  made  to  enforce  it,3  in  spite 
of  the  royal  approval.4 

From  1743  to  1749  Pensacola  continued  to  be  provis- 
ioned largely  from  Mobile,  but  the  payments  for  what 
was  procured  became  so  much  prompter  that  the  mer- 
chants at  the  French  village  began  to  hope  that  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  trade  would  result.5  During  these 
years  the  relations  between  the  French  and  the  Span- 
ish were  cordial  and  the  value  of  the  traffic  rose  to  more 
than  14,500  livres  annually.6  In  other  respects  the 

*  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C13,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  62-63.  *  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  A,  vol.  xxiii,  Aug.  14,  1743. 
4  Ibid.,  S&r.  B,  vol.  Ixxxiii,  fol.  n. 

6  Ibid.,  Str.  C",  vol.  xxx,  fol.  273. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  68-71 ;  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll.,  vol.  1726,  fol. 
242. 


427]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA  427 

situation  at  Pensacola  remained  much  as  it  had  been : 
a  period  of  plenty  followed  closely  by  one  of  want.  In 
May  1749  a  vessel  came  to  Mobile  with  information  that 
the  post  was  virtually  in  a  state  of  famine;  whereupon 
the  French  furnished  25  barrels  of  flour,  half  of  the 
amount  asked  for,  together  with  some  lard,  beans  and 
rice,  amounting  in  all  to  2,785  pounds.  The  merchandise 
brought  good  prices,  but  as  was  usually  the  case  the 
French  were  forced  to  wait  a  long  time  for  their  money.1 

Because  of  the  abuses  in  the  traffic  which  worked 
injury  to  the  province,  Governor  Kerlerec  suspended 
commerce  with  Pensacola  and  demanded  the  command- 
ant at  Mobile  to  see  to  it  that  he  enforce  the  order.2  To 
what  extent  and  for  what  length  of  time  this  official 
followed  the  instructions  from  his  superior  is  not  evident. 
Certain  it  is  that  before  the  war  was  long  in  progress 
the  old  relations  between  the  two  posts  were  much  the 
same  as  they  had  been,  and  remained  thus  during  the 
remainder  of  the  French  regime.3 

Although  the  trade  between  Louisiana  and  Florida 
centered  naturally  at  Pensacola,  St.  Augustine  was  not 
entirely  overlooked.  In  1702  the  governor  of  that  post 
besought  the  French  on  the  Mobile  to  aid  him  in  his 
struggle  with  the  English  by  sending  him  ammunition. 
To  this  request  Bienville  replied  by  providing  him  with 
100  guns,  500  pounds  of  powder  and  some  bullets.4  The 
next  year  the  latter  official  despatched  to  Vera  Cruz  a 
boat  bearing  the  news  to  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  that 
St.  Augustine  was  besieged  and  in  need  of  succor.5 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  7,  65. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxix,  fol.  51. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxvi,  fol.  270;  Bossu,  vol.  i,  p.  221. 

4  La  Harpe,  p.  74.  6Ibid.,  p.  75. 


428  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [428 

Before  help  from  the  latter  source  could  arrive,  the 
governor  of  this  hard-pressed  Spanish  post  again  ap- 
pealed to  the  Louisiana  officials  for  munitions  of  war, 
and  secured  enough  to  bring  the  value  of  the  amount 
thus  far  procured  there  to  7,009  livres,  5  sols.1  In  July 
the  boat  that  had  gone  to  Vera  Cruz  to  carry  the  news 
to  the  viceroy  of  the  conditions  at  St.  Augustine  re- 
turned, bearing  to  Bienville  the  thanks  of  that  official  for 
the  munitions  he  had  provided,  but  apparently  nothing 
more  substantial.2 

During  the  years  1709-1710  Louisiana  settlers  furnished 
St.  Augustine  with  food  worth  8,140  livres,  10  sols. 
The  home  government  was  requested  to  send  to  the 
province  provisions  equal  in  quantity  to  make  good  to  the 
colonists  the  amount  they  had  advanced.3  For  a  number 
of  years  the  French  records  contain  no  reference  to  the 
traffic.  In  1715,  however,  the  Carolinians  claimed  that 
since  their  war  with  the  "  St.  Augustine  Spaniards,"  the 
inhabitants  of  Mobile  had  enjoyed  a  trade  with  the  post 
in  question  worth  about  £30,000  sterling.4  What  prob- 
ably happened  was  that  vessels  passing  from  Mobile  to 
Vera  Cruz  for  food  supplies  sometimes  carried  part  of 
the  cargo  to  St.  Augustine.5 

In  1727  when  Governor  Perier  was  at  Mobile  he  asked 
certain  Spaniards  whom  he  met  there  whether  it  would 
be  possible  for  Louisiana  to  procure  cattle  from  among 
the  large  herds  in  Florida.  They  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative, and  ventured  the  opinion  besides  that  the  governor 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  i,  fols.  387-396. 
J  La  Harpe,  p.  80. 

*  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  ii,  fol.  524. 

4  Coll.  S.  C.  Hist.  Soc.,  vol.  ii,  p.  223;  B.  of  T.  Papers,  Prop.  No.  10, 
Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 
6  A.  N.t  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  ii,  fols.  387-396;  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  166-173. 


429]  TRADE  WITH  FLORIDA  429 

of  the  province  would  not  be  averse  to  the  scheme.  A 
Frenchman  was  at  once  sent  thither  to  establish  the 
traffic  through  Indian  agents.  He  carried  with  him 
presents  for  the  savages  and  also  a  small  gift  for  the 
governor  of  that  province.  The  French  officials  hoped 
to  secure  700  or  800  head  of  cattle.1  The  number  actu- 
ally acquired  from  this  quarter  is  not  given. 

The  friendliness  of  the  governor  of  Florida  was  again 
turned  to  account  by  the  Louisiana  officials,  in  June  1729, 
when  they  sent  a  vessel  to  Vera  Cruz  under  the  pretext 
of  informing  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  of  the  danger  that 
threatened  the  Florida  coast,  but  in  reality  to  carry  on 
trade  with  the  merchants  of  that  town.2  Of  this  scheme 
the  commandant  at  Pensacola  and  the  governor  at  St. 
Augustine  had  full  cognizance  and  in  fact  were  instigators 
of  it.3 

The  governor  of  Florida  on  his  part  was  not  slow  to 
draw  every  possible  advantage  from  his  friendship  with 
the  French.  To  this  end  in  1736  he  requested  the  officials 
at  Mobile  to  send  him  a  supply  of  400  guns.  On  Octo- 
ber a  vessel  left  with  one  half  that  number  and  proceeded 
first  to  Campeachy,  where,  the  captain  pleading  that  he 
had  been  driven  thither  by  a  storm,  tried  to  get  in  touch 
with  the  local  merchants  whom  he  hoped  to  induce  to 
visit  Louisiana.  The  excuse  failed  to  impress  the  gov- 
ernor who  ordered  him  to  leave  the  harbor  at  once.  The 
French  boat  thereupon  set  sail  for  St.  Mark's  where,  ac- 
cording to  the  agreement  with  the  Florida  governor,  he 
was  to  deliver  the  guns.  This  Spanish  officer  in  charge 
refused  to  pay  for  them  at  the  rate  of  five  piastres  each, 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C^,  vol.  x,  fol.  189. 

2  Supra,  p.  397. 

s  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  xii,  fols.  61-63. 


430  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [430 

the  price  fixed  by  the  governor  himself.  Instead  he  paid 
only  800  piastres  in  the  form  of  a  bill  of  exchange  on 
Havana.1 

In  1746  it  was  claimed  that  the  Spaniards  of  St.  Augus- 
tine came  frequently  to  Mobile  in  search  of  flour,  corn,, 
rice  and  all  sorts  of  European  goods,  for  which  they  paid 
cash.2  Again  in  1749  it  was  asserted  that  they  made 
visits  to  New  Orleans  on  similar  errands.3  Since  St. 
Augustine  was  on  the  route  of  the  Spanish  ships  making 
the  circuit  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  this  trade  with  Louis- 
iana, though  insignificant,  gave  the  French  opportunity 
to  come  into  contact  with  Spanish  merchants  and  for 
that  reason  seems  to  have  been  encouraged.  What  it 
actually  amounted  to  is  not  shown  in  the  French  records. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  94-100;  vol.  xxii,  fols.  37-41. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fol.  273. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  166-167. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
TRADE  WITH  CUBA 

TRADE  with  Havana  was  also  one  of  Iberville's  schemes, 
and  as  early  as  November  24,  1701  he  was  investigating 
ways  and  means  of  establishing  it.  That  port  was  lo- 
cated conveniently  enough  at  a  distance  of  only  about 
15  days  sail  from  Biloxi,  but  Spanish  regulations  consti- 
tuted a  formidable  bar  to  traffic.  Iberville  had  been 
most  careful  to  show  the  Spaniards  of  Pensacola  certain 
favors '  which  he  hoped  in  the  end  to  turn  to  advantage  at 
Havana.*  With  this  object  in  mind  he  sent  a  vessel  for 
a  cargo  of  domestic  animals,  only  to  have  it  peremptorily 
excluded.  The  founder  of  the  Louisiana  colony  there- 
fore wrote  to  the  home  government  asking  it  to  induce 
Spain,  if  possible,  to  revise  its  regulations  sufficiently  to 
permit  of  an  exchange  of  such  animals  for  French  mer- 
chandise.3 France  took  no  action  in  the  matter  appar- 
ently. In  1704*  and  again  in  1706  Bienville  despatched 
a  vessel  to  Havana  for  a  cargo  of  food  supplies.  These 
were  furnished,  but  no  domestic  animals  were  forth- 
coming.5 

The  visits  seem  to  have  created  some  interest  among 
the  Havana  merchants,  who,  on  January  30,  1707,  had  a 

1  Supra,  p.  418. 

1  Margry,  vol.  iv,  p.  502. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  552. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  v,  p.  441. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  C18,  vol.  i,  fols.  502-513. 


432  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [432 

vessel  in  Louisiana  with  a  cargo  of  wine  from  the  Canary 
Islands.1  The  arrival  of  the  ship  encouraged  the  French 
in  the  following  year  to  instruct  the  captains  of  vessels 
making  voyages  to  Louisiana  to  call  at  Havana  on  the 
return  to  France  with  the  object  of  stimulating  the 
interest  further.  At  all  events,  on  January  9,  1708,  a 
small  ship  from  Havana  sold  at  Dauphin  Island  a  cargo 
of  brandy,  lard  and  tobacco.3 

The  officials  of  Louisiana  now  ventured  to  ask  the 
home  government  for  a  boat  of  about  80  tons  on  which 
to  transport  domestic  animals  from  Cuba.3  In  1711  a 
vessel  of  some  50  tons  was  purchased  at  Martinique  for 
this  purpose  at  a  cost  of  2,000  livres.  On  its  way  to 
Louisiana  it  was  wrecked  by  a  storm.4  The  outlook  for 
the  trade  at  this  time  was  especially  gloomy,  since  the 
Spanish  colonists  appear  to  have  entertained  a  certain 
amount  of  jealousy  toward  Louisiana,  arising  from  a 
belief  that  the  better  climate  and  soil  of  the  French  pos- 
session would  soon  enable  it  to  become  too  powerful  for 
their  safety.  This  sentiment,  added  to  the  force  of  the 
existing  commercial  relations,  strengthened  the  unwill- 
ingness of  the  functionaries  at  Havana  to  sell  the  do- 
mestic animals  so  much  sought  after.5 

In  spite  of  such  obstacles,  the  "  ordonnateur "  of 
Louisiana  recommended  to  the  home  government,  in 
1713,  the  desirability  of  procuring  hogs  at  "  Matance " 
(Mantanzas),  since  they  could  be  obtained  there  at  from 
six  reaux  to  two  livres  a  head.  The  profit  of  100  per 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  101. 

1  A,  N.f  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  xxxix,  Louisiana,  iC,  fols.  44-46. 

8  La  Harpe,  p.  104. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  ii,  fols.  89,  600. 

6  Ibid.,  fols.  803-809. 


433]  TRADE  WITH  CUBA  433 

cent  made  on  French  merchandise  given  in  exchange 
would  lower  the  ultimate  cost  of  the  animals  to  30  or  40 
sols  each.  There,  also,  and  at  Havana,  cattle  could  be 
bought  at  from  seven  to  eight  piastres  a  head,  and  if 
similarly  acquired,  the  resultant  price  would  be  three  or 
four  piastres.  The  animals,  in  fact,  could  be  purchased 
even  cheaper  perhaps  at  Tampico.  Accordingly  the 
"  ordonnateur  "  requested  permission  to  use  the  boat  of 
70  tons  that  had  been  acquired  at  Vera  Cruz x  in  promot- 
ing the  trade.  It  was  thought  that  the  English  ships 
that  during  the  war  had  closed  these  ports  would  no 
longer  disturb  vessels  entering  them.  No  reply  to  the 
request  was  made  by  the  home  government.2  So  thor- 
oughly did  the  "  ordonnateur"  believe  in  the  possibilities 
of  the  traffic  that,  before  the  end  of  the  year,  he,  in  con- 
junction with  Bienville  and  a  nephew  of  the  governor 
of  Pensacola,  fitted  out  a  vessel  and  despatched  it  to 
Havana  for  the  purpose  of  their  own  private  trade.  No 
details,  however,  are  given  as  to  the  results  of  the 
venture.3 

The  commercial  activities  of  the  "  ordonnateur  "  caus- 
ed a  clash  between  him  and  the  Crozat  agents.  On 
his  own  behalf  that  officer  informed  the  crown  that 
the  agents  in  question  had  violated  their  agreement  in 
charging  far  too  much  for  the  domestic  animals  that 
thev  had  sold  to  the  settlers.4  His  contention  was  up- 
held, for  in  reply  the  government  stated  that  no  profits 
should  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  such  animals  to  the 
colonists,  because  enough  could  be  made  on  the  French 

1  Supra,  p.  283. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248. 
» Ibid.,  fol.  355- 

4  Ibid.,  fols.  695-696. 


434  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [434 

merchandise  given  in  exchange  to  warrant  disposing  of 
them  at  their  cost  in  Havana.1  The  crown  also  in- 
structed the  officials  to  send  thither  a  vessel  three  times 
a  year  for  livestock.2  The  royal  command,  however, 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  heeded  by  Crozat's  repre- 
sentatives.3 

Fortunately  for  Louisiana,  persistency  was  a  strong 
element  in  the  character  of  the  man  who  was  "  ordon- 
nateur"  of  the  province  during  these  years.  In  March 
1716  he  despatched  a  vessel  to  Havana,  instructing  the 
captain  to  enter  that  port  on  the  pretext  of  shortage  of 
food  and  while  there  to  purchase  a  cargo  of  cattle.  The 
plan  worked  and  the  shipmaster  was  allowed  by  the 
Spanish  governor  three  days  in  which  to  secure  the 
supply  he  needed.  In  that  time  he  succeeded  in  putting 
on  board  60  head  of  cattle.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  set 
sail,  one  of  his  sailors,  on  being  asked  what  they  were 
going  to  do  with  so  many  cows,  inadvertently  replied 
that  they  were  going  to  take  them  to  Louisiana.  On 
receipt  of  this  information  the  governor  ordered  all  but 
15  of  the  animals  to  be  taken  off,  after  which  the  vessel 
was  commanded  to  leave  the  port  at  once.4  The  Louis- 
auna  athorities  were  not  yet  disposed  to  give  up  the 
idea  of  securing  cattle  from  Havana,  and  on  October  26, 
1717,  a  ship  was  again  sent  to  that  place  to  buy  them 
but,  with  even  less  satisfactory  results.5 

The  change  made  at  this  time  in  the  administration 
caused  a  lull  in  all  activities,  yet  French  interest  in  the 

i  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  F»,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S.  M.,  Dec.  27,  1715. 

1  Ibid.,  Ser.  OB,  voi.  jVj  fois.  660-661. 

» Ibid.,  fol.  736. 

*  La  Harpe,  pp.  132-133;  A.,  M.  des  C.,  Ser.  G1,  vol.  464. 

6  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fol.  46. 


435]  TRADE  WITH  CUBA  435 

trade  with  the  Spanish  West  Indies  was  in  some  way 
kept  alive.  On  June  5,  1721,  at  all  events,  a  vessel  from 
Havana  reached  Louisiana  where  a  cargo  of  tobacco  at 
three  quarters  of  a  real  a  pound  payable  in  French  mer- 
chandise was  disposed  of.  Considerable  quantities,  also, 
of  brandy,  powder,  flour,  paper  and  groceries  were  pur- 
chased and  paid  for  in  cash.  Though  the  merchandise 
in  question  was  greatly  needed  at  home,  the  colonial 
officials  evidently  believed  it  to  be  good  policy  to  sell 
them  to  the  Spaniard,  inasmuch  as  any  temporary  em- 
harassment  would  be  counterbalanced  in  future  by  an 
increase  in  trade.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  Spanish 
merchant's  intention  in  the  matter,  his  work  came  to  a 
sudden  end  on  his  return  to  Havana,  where  he  was 
seized  and  imprisoned  on  a  charge  of  smuggling.1 

The  next  year  Bienville  renewed  the  attempt  to  estab- 
lish trade  relations  with  Havana.  Under  the  pretext  of 
a  desire  to  exchange  prisoners  of  war,  his  vessel,  with  a 
cargo  of  merchandise  amounting  to  about  2,000  piastres 
in  value,  effected  a  landing  and  the  captain  sold  the 
entire  consignment  for  more  than  200,000  piastres.  So 
great  was  the  demand  for  French  goods  that  the  local 
merchants  came  in  small  boats  and  begged  him  "for  the 
love  of  God  "  to  sell  them  what  he  had  on  board.  They 
brought  with  them  in  fact,  300,000  piastres  from  which 
liberal  presents  were  given  to  the  captain  and  sailors  as 
an  inducement  to  make  them  speedily  return.* 

This  venture  naturally  intensified  Louisiana's  interest 
in  the  Spanish  West-Indian  commerce.  On  February 
n,  1727  a  representative  of  the  provincial  government 
held  a  conference  at  Cape  Frangais  with  some  Cuban 

1  La  Harpe,  pp.  252-253. 

1  Ber  anger,  Memoir e  de  la  Louisiane,  1722,  p.  103.     Newberry  Lib., 
Chicago. 


43  6  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [436 

merchants  who  agreed  to  send  agents  to  the  colony  with 
piastres  to  exchange  for  French  merchandise.  Letters 
also  were  despatched  to  France  asking  to  have  the  store- 
house replenished  with  articles  suited  to  the  Spanish 
trade,  and  ready  for  the  merchants  in  question  who  agreed 
to  make  a  journey  thither  in  about  six  months.1  The 
response  to  the  call  was  so  slow  that  on  January  30, 
1729,  when  the  goods  finally  arrived  there  were  no  Span- 
iards there  to  buy  them.  The  Louisiana  authorities 
thereupon  sent  out  letters  in  triplicate2  to  merchants  in 
Havana  lists  of  the  merchandise  then  available ;  but  the 
action  elicited  no  response.3 

After  the  resumption  of  royal  administration  the  task 
of  developing  trade  with  the  Spanish  West  Indies  was 
more  difficult  than  ever.  Incapacity  on  the  part  of  the 
Company's  agents  had  brought  the  traffic  into  disfavor 
with  the  Spanish  merchants,  but  the  Louisiana  officials 
believed  that  under  the  new  regime  the  evil  would  be 
remedied.  They  felt  sure,  in  1733  at  all  events,  that  they 
could  find  people  at  Havana  willing  to  put  vessels  into 
the  service,  if  only  the  crown  would  supply  the  store- 
house at  the  Balise  with  merchandise  that  was  sufficiently 
attractive.4  The  next  year  the  home  government  again 
was  informed  that  trade  with  Havana  could  be  established 
through  Spanish  merchants  as  they  made  the  circuit  of 
the  Gulf  ports  by  inducing  them  to  touch  at  the  Balise.5 
There  was  little  possibility  of  building  up  such  traffic  by 
means  of  French  boats;  since  in  1735  the  governor  of 
Havana  was  instructed  by  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  to 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  x,  fol.  310. 

2  Supra,  p.  404. 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xi,  fol.  309. 
*Ibid.,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  82-88. 
5  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  41-44. 


437]  TRADE  WITH  CUBA  437 

allow  no  French  vessels,  whether  from  the  colonies  or 
from  France  itself,  to  enter  that  harbor.  The  enforce- 
ment of  the  command,  it  was  asserted,  caused  the  loss 
of  two  French  boats  before  the  end  of  the  year,  as  well 
as  great  damage  to  many  other  vessels  and  cargoes.  A 
protest  was  made  against  such  an  order,  especially  in  the 
case  of  ships  bound  for  that  harbor  because  of  some 
pressing  need.1 

For  some  time  the  obstacles  seem  to  have  been  too 
formidable  to  be  overcome.  By  1743,  however,  trade 
became  fairly  active.  Numerous  vessels  from  France 
bound  for  Louisiana  called  en  route  at  Havana  where 
they  disposed  of  a  large  part  of  their  cargoes.2  The 
governor  again  being  ordered  to  allow  no  French  ships 
to  enter,  in  October  confiscated  a  boat  of  that  nationality 
with  a  cargo  on  board  worth  100,000  livres,  notwith- 
standing it  had  put  in  there  by  reason  of  heavy  seas.3 
The  change  of  policy  toward  the  French  vessels  affected 
those  from  Louisiana  itself,  some  of  which  could  obtain 
no  trading  permits  whatever,  and  others  were  granted 
them  at  such  exorbitant  rates  that  the  business  could 
not  be  made  profitable.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  the 
governor  of  Cuba  received  orders  to  exclude  all  ships 
from  Havana,  as  no  prohibitions  against  them  had  been 
removed.4 

In  spite  of  the  heightened  risk  of  confiscation,  many 
boats  from  France  and  Louisiana  found  their  way  to 
Havana  or  vicinity.  Some,  to  be  sure,  were  seized,  but 
others  succeeded  in  carrying  on  a  very  lucrative  trade.5 

*  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  10769,  fol.  88. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O»,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  62-63. 

J  Ibid.,  fol.  44. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  62. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii,  fols.  271-272,  277,  281. 


438  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [438 

In  October  1744,  for  example,  a  ship  left  Louisiana  with 
a  cargo  of  French  merchandise  to  be  exchanged  for  one 
of  powder.1  By  December  Governor  Vaudreuil  through 
his  correspondence  with  the  governor  at  Havana,  had 
brought  about  in  that  official  a  different  attitude  toward 
trade  with  the  French.  He  was  now  lenient  to  both 
Spanish  and  French  merchants  who  desired  to  trade 
with  one  another.2  Moreover  France  now  being  at  war 
with  England,  naturally  the,  Spanish  port  was  not  so 
tightly  closed  as  usual.  Therefore  many  Spaniards  from 
there  passed  to  Louisiana.  Some  of  the  traffic  was 
carried  on  by  the  "  Royal  Company  of  Havana "  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  lumber,  pitch  and  tar.  By 
1746  it  had  become  quite  extensive  and  brought  to  the 
province  large  sums  of  Spanish  money.3 

Since  the  beginning  of  hostilities,  the  vessels  sailing 
from  France  in  larger  convoys  had  found  it  safer  to  touch 
at  Havana,  and  thence  to  proceed  singly  or  in  smaller 
convoys.  The  practice  was  very  prejudicial  to  existing 
commercial  relations :  first,  by  depriving  the  colony  of 
the  greater  part  of  its  European  merchandise,  sold  en 
route ;  and  secondly,  by  providing  that  town  with  so 
much  material  of  the  sort  as  to  remove  any  inclination 
to  send  vessels  to  Louisiana  for  it.  This  in  turn  lessened 
correspondingly  the  number  of  boats  available  to  take 
local  products  to  Cuba.4 

Even  before  the  opening  of  the  war,  the  rigidity  of  the 
Spanish  officers  in  enforcing  the  rules  of  trade  had  caused 

i-A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxviii,  fol.  279. 

*  Ibid.,  fols.  271-272. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix,  fol.  41 ;  vol.  xxx,  fol.  273 ;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxiii,  fols. 
II,  19. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  C15,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  25,  144. 


439]  TRADE  WITH  CUBA  439 

new  methods  to  be  inaugurated  by  the  merchants.  Ves- 
sels from  Campeachy,  Vera  Cruz,  Tampico  and  other 
Spanish  settlements  on  the  western  part  of  the  Gulf 
coast,  on  their  way  to  Havana  with  cargoes  of  salt,  flour 
and  other  articles,  touched  at  the  Balise  and  exchanged 
the  commodities  for  French  merchandise  and  Louisiana 
products  that  were  wanted  in  Cuba.  The  goods  thus 
obtained  were  placed  in  the  empty  packages,  which 
were  again  fastened  and  labeled  just  as  they  had  been 
when  taken  on  at  the  original  port  of  departure.  At 
Havana  the  stuff  from  Louisiana  was  exchanged  for 
sugar  and  molasses,  which,  on  the  return  trip,  in  turn 
were  exchanged  in  similar  fashion  at  the  Balise  for 
another  cargo  of  local  or  French  products  to  be  carried 
back  to  Mexico.  These  processes  appear  to  have  been 
carried  on  with  the  full  knowledge  and  consent  of  the 
officials  at  the  various  places  concerned,  and  yet  enabled 
them  to  make  a  plausible  report  to  their  superiors. 
Perhaps  no  one  thing  contributed  more  to  the  success 
of  the  arrangement  than  the  clever  correspondence  of 
Vaudreuil  with  the  various  influential  Spaniards  involved.1 
By  1747  he  had  so  ingratiated  himself  with  the  gov- 
ernor at  Havana,  through  skilful  letter-writing,  that  the 
opposition  to  trade  with  the  French  had  been  removed. 
Vaudreuil  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  "  Royal  Com- 
pany of  Havana,"  whose  trade  with  his  province  he 
hoped  to  increase.  Nothing  of  importance  was  accom- 
plished, chiefly  because  of  a  difference  of  opinion  on 
prices.2  Traffic  with  other  merchants  at  that  port,  how- 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  145-146;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224, 
fols.  126-127;  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  i,  fol.  19;  vol.  ii,  fols.  119-120;  vol. 
x,  fol.  44. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  31,  57,  70;  vol.  xxxiii,  fols. 
64-66. 


440  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [440 

ever,  had  gone  on  in  defiance  of  the  risk  of  capture  by 
the  English.1 

Nor  were  the  skippers  of  the  French  vessels  averse 
to  other  expedients  that  might  enable  them  to  avoid  the 
Spanish  trade  regulations.  Some  of  them  have  already 
been  noted.  Besides  the  "stress  of  storm"  and  "heavy 
seas "  they  found  "  sprung  a  leak,"  "  broken  mast," 
"  shortage  of  wood  and  water  "  and  similar  excuses  quite 
as  effective,  according  to  circumstances.2  In  general, 
however,  during  the  war  and  for  a  considerable  period 
afterward,  French  vessels  were  seldom  denied  admission 
to  Havana  at  least.  Nevertheless  for  two  months  in 
1748  this  port  was  closed  to  commerce  by  an  English 
man-of-war.3 

Encouraged  by  the  activity  of  commerce  with  Cuba,  a 
Louisiana  official  proposed  to  the  home  government,  in 
1749,  that  it  sound  Spain  on  the  possibility  of  conclud- 
ing a  treaty  permitting  pitch,  tar,  lumber  and  other 
building  materials  to  be  sold  in  its  colonies  openly.  On 
each  of  these  articles,  also,  the  crown  was  to  fix  the 
price.4  The  suggestion  is  simply  a  repetition  of  the 
proposal  in  1746  and  like  it  similarly  received  no  further 
consideration. 

The  return  to  peace  brought  about  marked  changes  in 
the  trade  with  Havana.  In  1750  the  number  of  Spanish 
vessels  coming  to  Louisiana  fell  off  considerably.  This 
decrease  was  due  in  part  to  the  vigorous  way  in  which 

*A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  88-90;  A.,  B.  N.,  Joly  Coll,  vol. 
1726,  fols.  145-146. 
1  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fols.  133-136;  A.,  A.  £.,  Ant.,  vol.  ii,  pp. 

III-I20. 

*  A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fol.  132. 

4  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  119-120;  A.,  B.  N.f  Fr.,  vol.  12224,  fols. 
133-136. 


441]  TRADE  WITH  CUBA  44I 

the  Spanish  governor  enforced  the  commercial  regula- 
tions. Another  contributing  factor  lay  in  the  circum- 
stance that  the  adjacent  Spanish  colonies  had  become 
overstocked  with  French  merchandise  which  sold  there 
more  cheaply  than  in  Louisiana  itself.  Until  adjustment 
of  demand  and  supply  could  be  reached,  therefore,  it 
was  unlikely  that  Spanish  vessels  would  soon  appear 
on  the  scene.1  On  the  other  hand  the  hope  for  an  ad- 
mission of  French  ships  at  Havana  harbor  was  equally 
improbable  of  realization,  unless  the  traffic  restrictions 
were  abated  in  some  measure.2  The  obstructions,  it 
was  hoped,  would  be  the  means  of  bringing  Spanish 
boats  again  to  Louisiana. 

At  this  time,  1752,  the  trade  with  Havana  was  crippled 
still  further  by  the  recall  of  Governor  Vaudreuil  and  the 
appointment  of  a  successor  far  less  skilled  in  colonial 
affairs  and  possessed  of  much  less  cleverness  and  tact. 
Moreover  the  new  incumbent  was  scarcely  installed  in 
office  when  France  became  involved  in  the  Seven  Years 
War.  During  the  early  years  of  the  conflict  Havana  re- 
mained absolutely  closed  to  French  ships.  In  1758  it 
was  asserted  by  a  merchant  at  Mobile  that  the  Spanish 
trade  which  for  the  past  seven  years  had  been  about 
500,000  livres  annually  had  dwindled  to  almost  nothing. 
Every  one  engaged  in  it  desired  to  sell  out  and  leave  the 
place.3  The  next  year  the  Louisiana  officials  requested 
the  home  government  to  take  up  the  matter  of  the  closed 
ports  with  Spain  on  the  ground  that,  since  France  and 
Spain  were  at  peace,  the  attitude  of  the  Spanish  governor 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiii,  fols.  64-66;  A.,  A.  £.,  Am.,  vol.  ii, 
fols.  107,  119-120. 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  250,  277. 
3  Ibid.,  vol.  xl,  fols.  246-247. 


442  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [442 

seemed  not  only  incomprehensible  but  was  in  fact  a  vio- 
lation of  treaties  subsisting  between  the  two  nations.1 
Since  Louisiana  at  the  time  was  short  of  food  supplies, 
in  December  the  "  ordonnateur,"  without  waiting  for  a 
reply  from  France,  sent  a  boat  to  Havana  for  a  cargo  of 
powder.2  The  venture  was  entirely  fruitless.  The  ship 
was  not  allowed  in  the  harbor  nor  was  permission  granted 
to  buy  the  desired  commodity  outside.3 

The  French  government  meanwhile  called  the  attention 
of  Spain  to  the  treatment  of  its  vessels  at  Havana  and 
succeeded  in  re-establishing  trade  relations.  In  order 
to  open  the  Spanish  ports  it  became  necessary  to  pay 
some  very  questionable  bills  of  exchange  drawn  in  favor 
of  Spanish  merchants.  As  a  further  encouragement  to 
the  process  Governor  Kerlerec  of  Louisiana  was  allowed 
to  draw  bills  of  exchange  in  favor  of  such  merchants  to 
the  amount  of  400,000  livres  a  year.4  The  work  of  restora- 
tion, however,  was  too  long  delayed  to  be  of  any  consi- 
derable importance  to  the  French. 

1  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol.  10769,  fols.  96-97. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  xli,  fol.  323. 
s  Ibid.,  vol.  xliii,  fol.  93. 

4  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  pt.  i,  vol.  cxiii,  fols.  276-277;  A.,  B.  N.,  Fr.,  vol. 
10764,  fols.  243-244. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 

SINCE  one  of  the  aims  of  the  French  in  establishing 
Louisiana  was  to  keep  the  English  out  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  latter  would 
be  encouraged  to  come  thither  to  trade.  From  the  out- 
set, therefore,  not  much  cordiality  was  displayed  between 
the  officials  of  the  French  settlements  on  the  Gulf  coast 
and  those  of  the  English  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Each 
feared  and  distrusted  the  other.  For  example,  Iberville, 
on  his  way  from  Louisiana  to  France  in  1700,  touched 
at  New  York.  The  visit  gave  rise  to  considerable  specu- 
lation and  some  uneasiness  there  as  to  its  object.  Ac- 
cording to  rumor,  James  II  had  presented  New  York  to 
France,  and  this  Frenchman  had  been  ordered  to  make 
the  stop  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  channel  and 
the  harbor.  Some  specific  purpose,  the  English  felt 
certain,  must  have  turned  so  clever  a  seaman  and  colony- 
builder  out  of  the  direct  route  to  France.  Moreover,  this 
opinion  was  reinforced  by  the  further  belief  that  French- 
men in  general  were  individuals  of  too  great  perspicacity 
to  let  an  advantage  slip  or  to  make  a  voyage  having  no 
significance.1  So  far  as  the  English  colonial  merchant 
of  the  time  on  his  part  was  concerned,  neither  fear  nor 
repugnance  entered  into  his  commercial  relationships. 
To  him  business  was  business,  not  sentiment  or  hatred, 

1  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial  Series,  Am.  and  West  Indies, 
p.  602.    Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 

443]  443 


444  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [444 

and  he,  too,  was  as  active  and  alert  as  his  French  neigh- 
bors, if  not  more  so. 

In  any  case  the  possibilities  of  trade  with  the  little 
French  colony  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  seemed  promising 
enough.  At  the  time  of  the  founding  of  Biloxi,  English 
merchants  knew  the  field  fairly  well.  They  already  had 
carried  on  a  commerce  with  the  West  Indies  in  direct 
violation  of  existing  regulations.  Restrictions  upon  traf- 
fic with  Louisiana,  therefore,  would  be  nothing  new  for 
an  English  sea  captain.1 

Accordingly  it  might  be  supposed  that  English  ves- 
sels would  soon  participate  in  the  trade  of  the  province. 
It  was  not  to  be  presumed,  however,  that  a  suggestion 
to  that  effect  would  come  from  the  French  themselves  ; 
yet  in  1706  the  provincial  authorities  proposed  to  the 
crown  to  invite  the  sending  of  ships  from  Maryland  with 
cargoes  of  food  for  the  reason  that  French  boats  could 
not  provide  the  colony  with  more  than  half  of  the  com- 
modities needed.2  To  be  sure  the  proposal  received  no 
consideration  on  the  part  of  the  home  government. 
Nevertheless  in  June  1707  an  English  vessel  appeared 
on  the  Gulf  coast  with  an  appropriate  cargo.3 

The  traffic  thus  begun  was  soon  interrupted  by  the 
war  then  prevailing  between  England  and  France.4  One 
of  the  boats  that  Bienville  sent  to  Havana  with  a  cargo 
worth  more  than  1,524  livres  was  seized  and  confiscated 
by  the  English,  and  the  crew  landed  at  Havana.5  Up 
to  the  end  of  the  war  repetition  of  this  procedure  was 

1  Pub.  of  the  Prince  Soc.,  vol.  xxviii,  pp.  231,  268,  285;  Coll.  Maine 
Hist  Soc.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  254-256;  vol.  xi,  p.  38. 
1  A.  N.,  C.,  Str.  O3,  vol.  i,  fols.  472-501. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  fols.  57-69. 

4  Ibid.,  fol.  471. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  66. 


445]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  445 

always  to  be  expected.1  In  1710,  furthemore,  an  Eng- 
lish privateer  made  an  attack  upon  Dauphin  Island  and 
destroyed  or  carried  off  property  valued  at  upwards  of 
50,000  livres.2 

After  the  restoration  of  peace  in  1713  the  French  had 
an  advantage  over  the  English  in  the  colonial  trade. 
Spain  closed  her  ports  to  the  latter  and  the  French  saw 
to  it  that  the  command  was  enforced.3  The  French 
similarly  refused  to  admit  English  and  Dutch  ships  to 
its  provincial  ports.4  While  official  agencies  both  of 
Louisiana  and  Carolina  kept  a  close  watch,  and  in  their 
communications  to  the  respective  mother  countries 
exaggerated  the  power  and  importance  of  their  adver- 
saries, private  individuals  from  either  province  were  not 
averse  to  carrying  on  trade  surreptitiously.5  Governor 
Cadillac  himself  appears  not  to  have  objected  to  the 
practice  of  French  vessels  on  the  homeward  voyage  to 
touch  at  Carolina,  where  they  exchanged  such  things  as 
wine,  brandy,  cloth  and  paper  for  rice,  tobacco,  silk  and 
silver.6 

In  July  1717  an  English  vessel  came  to  Dauphin  Island, 
presumably  for  wood  and  water,  but  in  reality  to  dispose 
of  its  cargo.  The  following  month  a  second  ship  of 
that  nationality  arrived  on  apparently  the  same  quest. 
Permission  to  take  on  wood  and  water  was  granted  on 
an  agreement  from  the  captain  that  he  should  not  engage 
in  trade,  the  penalty  for  violation  of  the  agreement  being 
confiscation  of  the  cargo.  Notwithstanding  this  under- 

T-A.N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  iii,  fols.  245-248. 

2  La  Harpe,  p.  107. 

8  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  1711-1716,  vol.  vi,  p.  279. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  iii,  fols.  248-251. 

5  Ibid.,  fols.  446,  522-523 ;  vol.  iv,  fols.  241-242. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  fol.  421. 


446  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [446 

taking  he  exchanged  his  shipload  for  another.  The  com- 
modities thus  obtained  were  welcome  enough,  since  the 
local  storehouse  at  the  time  was  quite  empty.  They 
made  it  possible,  also,  for  the  officials  to  allay  discontent 
among  the  soldiers  over  the  shortage.1 

The  Company  of  the  Indies  was  not  at  all  opposed  to 
trade  with  the  English.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  de- 
cidedly willing,  and  was  granted  permission  by  the  crown 
to  procure  1,500  slaves2  from  that  source.3  The  favor- 
able attitude  was  speedily  appreciated.  In  April,  1719, 
three  more  English  ships  appeared  on  the  Gulf  coast 
ready  to  exchange  their  cargoes  of  flour  and  cloth  for 
new  ones  of  peltry.  An  offer  of  the  Company's  bills, 
however,  was  declined,,4  Earlier  in  the  year,  in  fact,  the 
superior  council  of  Louisiana  had  notified  the  governor 
of  Carolina  of  its  desire  to  buy  cattle,  paying  for  them 
in  bills  of  exchange  or  deerskins,  a  suggestion  that  was 
not  accepted.5  In  July  the  ensign  of  the  Company  was 
sent  to  Carolina  to  reclaim  some  French  deserters  and 
to  make  an  agreement  with  the  governor  to  furnish 
Louisiana  with  2,000  cows.  He  accomplished  neither  of 
the  tasks  assigned ;  instead,  on  his  arrival  he  was  seized 
as  an  undesirable  alien,  made  a  prisoner  and  sent  to 
England,  whence  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  France.6 

In  May,  1722,  an  English  vessel  reached  Mobile.  The 
captain,  having  been  there  before  on  a  similar  errand, 
was  so  sure  of  his  reception  that  he  made  no  excuse  for 
his  coming.  Nevertheless,  he  informed  the  authorities 

^  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  v,  fols.  48-49;  Ser.  Fs,  vol.  ccxli,  M.  S.  S. 
M.,  July  27,  1717. 

2  Supra,  p.  231. 

8  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C™,  vol.  v,  fols.  301-302. 

*  Ibid.,  fol.  209.  5  Ibid.,  fol.  344- 

'  La  Harpe,  p.  149. 


447]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  447 

that  a  French  ship,  putting  into  Havana  harbor  for  wood 
and  water,  had  been  confiscated  and  its  crew  landed.1 
He  asserted  also  that  he  knew  some  of  the  French  officers 
and  had  loaned  them  a  boat  to  make  their  escape  to  an 
English  island  where  they  could  secure  passage  to  France 
by  way  of  England.  The  Mobile  authorities  naturally 
expected  to  be  requested  to  pay  for  the  boat.  The  cap- 
tain was  apparently  too  well  satisfied  with  winning  their 
favor  and  being  able  to  sell  a  cargo  for  1,500  piastres  to 
make  any  such  demand.2 

Since  the  Carolina  officials  were  apt  to  be  alarmed  at 
any  report  describing  Louisiana  as  a  prosperous  province, 
it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  would  consent  to 
provide  a  possible  rival  with  anything  that  would  promote 
its  development.3  In  1724,  when  a  British  sloop  entered 
Charleston  harbor  with  a  load  of  pitch  and  tar  from 
Mobile,  they  dispatched  a  letter  to  the  home  government 
in  which  they  declared  that  the  French  of  Louisiana  were 
a  menace  to  their  local  market  in  those  commodities. 
They  asserted  that,  unless  these  articles  were  taken  out 
of  the  enumerated  list,  the  French  at  Mobile  in  particular 
would  be  able  to  supply  Europe  with  them  at  rates 
cheaper  than  was  possible  under  existing  English  re- 
strictions. The  higher  price  of  Carolina  products  was 
due  entirely  to  the  "  double  charge  of  risque,  landing 
and  shipping,  besides  loss  of  time."4 

The  next  year  two  English  ships  reached  Mobile  and 
did  some  trading  with  private  parties.  St.  Denis  who 
was  in  charge  at  the  time  gave  the  visiting  merchants 
permission  to  go  to  New  Orleans  by  way  of  Lake  Pont- 

1  Supra,  p.  435. 

1  La  Harpe,  p.  324;  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C18,  voL  vi,  fols.  318-320. 

s  B.  of  T.  Papers,  vol.  x,  pt.  2,  1718-1720.    Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Trans. 

*Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xi,  p.  204. 


448  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [44g 

chartrain,  while  he  sent  their  vessel  to  the  Balise  where 
the  captain  examined  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and 
sold  the  remainder  of  the  cargo,  the  officials  at  New 
Orleans  having  refused  to  enter  into  trade  with  them.1 
Although  refusing  these  advances,  these  same  officers  in 
1727  were  attempting  to  induce  Englishmen  to  come  to 
the  province  from  Virginia  or  Carolina  to  teach  the 
French  to  grow  tobacco.  To  this  end  Governor  Perier, 
while  on  his  way  to  Louisiana,  had  met  some  Carolina 
tobacco  growers  at  Cape  Frangais  and  had  persuaded 
them  to  come  to  Louisiana,  where  they  were  to  live  on 
the  plantations  belonging  to  the  Company  at  Natchez 
and  Capitoulas  in  order  to  oversee  the  culture  in  ques- 
tion. They  agreed  on  their  return  to  Carolina  to  send 
to  Louisiana  some  tobacco  seed,  which  promise  they  seem 
never  to  have  fulfilled,2  due  no  doubt  to  the  fact  that  the 
officials  of  the  former  province  in  1730  had  forbidden 
trade  with  the  French.3 

Aside  from  an  unsuccessful  attempt  on  the  part  of  an 
English  trader  to  secure  a  contract  for  the  construction 
and  delivery  of  a  boat  for  the  service  with  the  French 
West  Indies4,  the  chief  item  in  the  commercial  relations 
of  1733  was  the  supply  of  limbourg.  As  the  Indians 
showed  a  decided  preference  for  the  English  article5,  the 
French  at  Mobile  were  not  slow  in  securing  it.  Mer- 
chants from  the  Carolinas  and  other  English  provinces 
were  encouraged  accordingly  to  bring  it.  Three  vessels 
of  that  nationality  soon  appeared  with  cargoes  of  lim- 
bourg, flour,  cider  and  beer,  all  of  which  were  quickly 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  ix,  fol.  62. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  fols.  171,  310.        J  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xiv,  p.  211. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  84-85;  Ser.  B,  vol.  lix,  fols.  573- 
574- 

5  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fol.  70. 


449]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  449 

sold.  With  this  traffic  Governor  Bienville  had  hesitated 
to  interfere  because  of  the  risk  of  a  rupture  with  the 
savages  if  they  were  not  provided  with  what  they  wanted. 
On  the  other  hand  he  had  some  fear  that  it  would 
weaken  the  French  influence  over  them,  since  it  was  the 
natives'  policy  to  carry  on  no  trade  with  enemies.  Such 
double-dealing  on  the  part  of  the  French  might  have  an 
unfortunate  effect,  as  in  reality  it  did.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, Bienville  decided  to  discourage  the  traffic,  request- 
ing the  English  traders  at  Mobile  to  inform  their  com- 
patriots that  nothing  more  of  the  sort  would  be  per- 
mitted.1 

What  word  the  traders  actually  passed  along  can  per- 
haps be  guessed  from  the  nature  of  what  occurred  during 
the  next  few  years.  The  French  at  Mobile,  it  seems, 
had  been  forced  by  the  governor  to  reject  part  of  the 
peltry  offered  by  the  savages,  on  the  ground  that  the 
home  market  would  accept  skins  of  the  best  quality  only. 
Rejection  of  the  inferior  grades  naturally  threw  them 
into  the  hands  of  the  English  who  took  all  varieties  of 
pelts  at  the  same  price.2  If,  therefore,  the  French 
should  wish  to  find  a  market  for  inferior  skins  it  could 
be  furnished  solely  through  dealing  with  the  English. 
As  it  could  hardly  be  presumed  that  the  governor's  dis- 
approval would  end  a  traffic  popularly  considered  to  be 
advantageous  to  all  concerned,  the  English  traders  con- 
tinued to  bring  cargoes  of  flour,  beer  and  goods  for  the 
Indian  trade  from  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylva- 
nia, Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  to  exchange  them  at  Mo- 
bile for  peltry  and  other  products.3  Informed  of  the  prac- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xvi,  fols.  281-282;  vol.  xvii,  fols.  271-275. 

2  Supra,  p.  350. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C«,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  3-7,  8-12;  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C., 
vol.  xvi,  pp.  392-393. 


450  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [450 

tice,  the  crown  declined  to  admit  the  evidence  of  its  value, 
and  accordingly  ordered  all  English  vessels  found  trad- 
ing in  Louisiana  confiscated.1  When  the  provincial  offi- 
cials, obedient  to  the  royal  command,  began  to  deal 
more  severely  with  the  English,  a  struggle  was  inevitable. 

In  February,  1734,  an  English  vessel  of  about  29  tons, 
pretending  to  be  on  its  way  from  Carolina  to  Jamaica, 
touched  at  Mobile  on  the  plea  that  it  had  been  forced 
to  do  so  on  account  of  violent  winds.  The  story  not 
being  credited,  the  ship  was  confiscated  and  the  cargo, 
consisting  chiefly  of  Indian  goods,  was  sold  for  between 
13,000  and  14,000  livres.  Of  the  six  members  of  the 
crew  two  were  allowed  to  make  their  way  overland  to  the 
Carolinas,  four  were  sent  to  New  Orleans  for  transporta- 
tion to  France,  and  the  captain  requested  to  be  allowed 
to  go  to  Pensacola  there  to  get  passage  to  an  English 
port.2  In  April  a  second  English  vessel  arriving  at 
Mobile,  its  captain  asked  for  supplies  and  for  permission 
to  make  certain  repairs  caused  by  a  severe  storm.  As 
its  appearance  so  strongly  corroborated  the  story,  the 
French  commandant  granted  the  request.  It  was  not 
permitted  to  depart,  however,  until  the  status  of  the 
ship  had  been  ascertained,  which  took  a  number  of 
months.  At  the  end  of  the  investigation  the  captain 
was  allowed  to  have  his  property.3 

The  continued  appearance  of  these  vessels  on  doubt 
was  due  in  a  measure  to  the  fact  that  the  commandant, 
Diron,  at  Mobile  and  Governor  Bienville  held  different 
opinions  concerning  commerce  with  the  English.  The 
former  continued  to  allow  the  traders  there  to  secure 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixi,  fol.  631. 

1  Ibid.,  Sir.  C18,  vol.  xvil,  fols.  3-7,  8-12;  vol.  xx,  fols.  67-70. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  55-57;  vol.  xix,  fols.  148-149. 


451]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  45! 

quantities  of  English  goods  in  exchange  for  peltry.1  In 
July  1734  an  English  captain  brought  to  Mobile  a  cargo 
of  flour  which  he  exchanged  for  deerskins  that  could  not 
be  sold  to  the  French  merchants.  The  people  of  the 
village,  thereby,  were  spared  further  suffering  due  to 
lack  of  food.  Bienville  now  joined  Diron  in  an  effort 
to  have  the  captain  of  the  boat  bring  there  at  once  an- 
other such  cargo  to  be  similarly  exchanged.  Moreover 
the  governor  defended  the  proceeding  to  the  home 
government.2 

Opposition  from  the  Louisiana  officials  certainly  did 
not  put  an  end  to  the  trade  with  the  English.  On  April 
28,  1735,  an  English  captain  entered  Mobile  Bay  on  the 
plea  that  he  had  come  to  collect  a  number  of  debts  con- 
tracted at  a  time  when  commerce  with  his  nation  was 
not  considered  illicit.  He  was  allowed  to  settle  his  affairs, 
and  meanwhile  succeeded  also  in  selling  his  entire  cargo 
of  flour,  salt  meat,  beef  and  staves.3  Another  English 
ship  appeared  in  July.  On  this  occasion  the  captain  was 
allowed  24  hours  to  take  on  wood  and  water,  but  he  was 
not  granted  the  privilege  of  trading.  Presumably,  in  order 
to  supervise  the  loading  of  these  commodities,  the 
"  entrepreneur  "  of  public  works  remained  two  days  on 
board  the  English  ship.  With  him  was  a  local  settler 
who  managed  to  procure  two  "  quarts  "  of  flour  in  return 
for  peltry.  Convinced  that  illicit  trade  was  in  progress, 
the  commandant  sent  a  company  of  55  soldiers  to  stop 
it.  They  did  not  reach  the  boat  until  the  last  of  the 
merchandise  had  been  taken  on,  and  the  "  entrepre- 
neur's "  boat  had  left,  carrying  only  a  small  amount  of 
flour  that  the  captain  had  given  in  exchange  for  some 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser,  C18,  vol.  xviii,  fols.  138-141,  203. 

1  Ibid.,  fol.  205.  s  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  93-94. 


THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [452 

food  supplies.  An  encounter  with  the  English  cost  the 
government  453  livres,  12  sols,  8  deniers,  and  the  loss 
of  a  number  of  sailors.1  In  August  a  vessel  from  Caro- 
lina took  away  5,000  deerskins,  though  its  captain  was 
officially  informed  that  the  traffic  was  not  allowed.  The 
home  government,  nevertheless,  was  notified  that  the 
transaction  was  allowable  because  it  helped  Louisiana 
by  depriving  the  English  of  a  large  part  of  their  fur 
trade.2  During  the  same  month  the  captain  of  a  ship 
from  Jamaica  entered  the  harbor  under  the  pretext  of 
adjusting  certain  matters  connected  with  the  confiscation 
of  I734-3  Thus,  employing  one  device  or  another,  the 
English  skippers  pushed  their  way  to  Louisiana  ports, 
where  they  usually  were  able  to  sell  their  cargoes. 

In  April,  1736,  two  vessels  of  that  nationality  were  at 
Mobile,  one  claiming  refuge  from  heavy  seas,  the  other 
a  shortage  of  water.  Bienville  was  there  at  the  time  of 
the  arrival  of  the  first  ship,  and  allowed  its  captain  to  sell 
flour ;  Diron  made  a  similar  concession  in  the  case  of  the 
second,  who  had  come  from  New  York.  The  privilege 
was  given  because  of  a  shortage  at  the  time  of  that  com- 
modity.4 This  leniency  could  have  but  one  result.  In 
May  a  vessel  arrived  from  Carolina  with  a  plea  for  neces- 
sary repairs.  It  had  cheese,  flour  and  beer  on  board, 
which  the  captain  was  permitted  to  sell,  bringing  him  5,000 
livres,  payable  in  four  months.  Credit  had  to  be  offered 
because  neither  cash  nor  peltry  was  available.  The  sale, 
however,  was  made  only  on  the  condition  that  the  captain 
be  allowed  to  return  within  the  period  stipulated.  He 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C1S,  vol.  xx,  fols.  93-100;  vol.  xxii,  fol.  270. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  xx,  fols.  160-167;  vol.  xxi,  fols.  04-100. 

*  A.,  B.  N.,  Nouvelle  Acquisition,  vol.  9311,  fol.  32. 

4  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  7-11 ;  vol.  xxii,  fol.  223. 


453]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  453 

was  told  also  that,  if  he  would  bring  to  Mobile  a  cargo 
of  flour,  he  might  be  allowed  to  sell  it.  The  French 
commandant  justified  his  action  in  this  respect,  though 
a  direct  violation  of  royal  orders,  on  the  ground 
of  extreme  scarcity  of  supplies.1  Later  the  crown  gave 
its  approval  to  the  buying  of  flour  from  the  English,  but 
forbade  absolutely  any  other  form  of  trade  with  them  on 
any  pretext  whatever.2 

Early  in  January,  1737,  two  English  vessels  were  at 
Mobile.  Bienville,  who  at  the  time  was  at  that  post, 
commanded  the  captains  to  leave  at  once  or  have  their 
boats  and  cargoes  seized  and  confiscated.  One  of  the 
ships  was  wrecked  on  an  island  near  by,  but  part  of  the 
load,  300  barrels  of  flour,  with  some  barrels  of  lard  and 
salt  meat,  was  saved.  It  was  sold  to  the  "entrepreneur" 
of  public  works  and  various  settlers,  the  captain  and  the 
crew  being  given  passage  on  a  Spanish  boat  bound  for  the 
Carolinas.  The  ship-master  requested  permission  to  re- 
turn by  sea  to  secure  payment  for  the  merchandise, 
but  it  was  denied  on  pain  of  confiscation  of  the  vessel. 
He  was,  however,  to  be  allowed  to  return  by  land. 
Notwithstanding  the  prohibition,  the  officials  at  Mobile 
were  assured  by  one  of  the  settlers  that  the  Englishman, 
who,  it  was  asserted,  had  made  a  secret  arrangement 
with  the  "entrepreneur"  and  some  of  the  traders  at  the 
village  to  return  with  another  cargo  of  flour  and  some 
negroes,  would  soon  be  there  again.  The  prediction 
came  true.  In  the  following  March  the  captain  arrived 
in  the  harbor. 

Since  his  departure  the  commandant  had  found  out  the 
details  of  the  agreement  with  the  Frenchmen,  and  at  this 

1A.  N.,  C.t  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxi,  fols.  346-351;  vol.  xxiv,  fol.  33. 
*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixiv,  fol.  509. 


454  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [454 

time  proceeded  to  carry  it  out  as  prearranged,  in  order 
to  trap  the  captain  and  capture  the  vessel,  which  proved 
to  have  on  board  a  crew  of  sixteen  men  and  five  negroes, 
and  was  armed  with  ten  cannon.  Following  a  signal,  the 
captain  steered  the  ship  for  the  "  Isle  of  Vessels,"  where 
he  supposed  his  confederates  were  to  meet  him  and  buy 
his  goods.  The  commandant  forced  the  "entrepreneur" 
to  write  and  sign  a  dictated  letter  to  the  Englishman 
asking  him  to  come  on  shore  with  some  of  his  men  in 
order  to  secure  a  certain  quantity  of  deerskins.  On  the 
arrival  of  the  unsuspecting  Englishmen  at  the  meeting- 
place  designated,  they  were  seized  and  taken  to  the  local 
fort  by  a  company  of  soldiers.  At  the  same  time  another 
party  of  soldiers  was  sent  after  the  remainder  of  the  crew 
left  in  charge  of  the  boat.  Under  pretext  of  bringing 
some  fresh  meat,  they  attempted  to  board  it.  The  Eng- 
lish, however,  were  too  wary  for  this,  and  at  once  opened 
fire.  In  the  skirmish  the  French,  with  the  loss  of  only 
two  negroes,  succeeded  in  capturing  the  ship,  which  was 
later  sent  to  the  Balise  and  sold  for  10,000  livres  and  the 
money  given  to  the  church.  Bienville  learned  through 
the  papers  in  the  possession  of  the  Englishman,  and  from 
some  of  the  settlers  in  a  position  to  know,  that  such 
meetings  at  different  places  along  the  coast  were  fre- 
quent. The  tremendous  amount  of  limbourg  at  Mobile 
bore  out  this  information.  Only  severe  treatment,  the 
Louisiana  officials  believed,  therefore,  would  put  an  end 
to  the  coming  of  the  English  to  Mobile.1 

Because  of  the  punishment  or  for  some  other  reason, 
no  English  boats,  in  fact,  came  to  Louisiana  in  1738. 
The  Carolinians  possibly  may  have  thought  that  their 
traffic  by  this  time  was  in  no  danger  of  competition  from 

1A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxii,  fols.  28-29,  107-110,  173-175,  198-203, 
223-232. 


455]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  45 5 

the  French.  The  English  government,  however,  did 
not  appear  to  be  so  confident  on  this  point.  A  treaty 
between  England  and  France  made  in  1686,  had  pro- 
hibited trading  and  fishing  by  the  natives  of  either  in  the 
territory  of  the  other.  Accordingly  trading  boats  found 
in  Carolina  waters  were  ordered  to  be  confiscated. 
Govnernor  Glenn,  was  instructed  to  take  particular  care 
to  enforce  the  exclusion  rigorously.1 

Neither  the  severity  of  the  French  officials  nor  the 
prohibition  in  question  kept  the  English  merchants  out 
of  Louisiana  commerce  very  long.  In  January,  1739  an 
English  captain  who  had  previously  worked  as  a  carpen- 
ter in  that  province  reached  Dauphin  Island  in  a  vessel 
from  the  Carolinas.  He  presented  to  the  commandant  at 
Mobile  a  permit  that  Bienville  had  given  him  in  1735 
allowing  him  to  bring  to  Louisiana  other  English  car- 
penters. The  document  presented  was  considered  to  be 
only  an  excuse  to  engage  in  illicit  trade  ;  therefore  he  was 
Ordered  to  leave  the  port  at  once  or  have  his  ship  con" 
fiscated.  The  inhabitants  of  Mobile,  also,  were  warned 
against  going  on  board.  Finding  it  impossible  to  do 
anything  in  the  face  of  this  opposition,  the  Englishman 
set  sail.2 

For  several  years  after  this  episode  there  seem  to 
have  been  no  English  vessels  at  Mobile.  During  the 
period  England  at  first  was  busied  in  the  war  with  Spain, 
which  disturbed  Louisiana  traffic  to  the  extent  of  involv- 
ing the  seizure  of  French  ships  suspected  of  carrying 
contraband.3  Some  of  the  French  merchantmen,  were 

1  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C\,  vol.  xx,  pp.  118-119;   The  Weston  Documents 
of  South  Carolina,  p.  97. 

2  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxiv,  fols.  247-248. 

3  Supra,  p.  194. 


456  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [456 

held  for  as  long  as  two  months.1  During  the  conflict, 
moreover,  the  Carolinians  became  more  inclined  than 
ever  to  believe  that  the  possible  competition  from  Lou- 
isiana trade  was  not  important  enough  to  give  them  the 
least  concern.  A  French  prisoner,  it  seems,  told  the 
governor  that  there  were  only  six  or  seven  small  vessels 
engaged  in  it  and  their  activities  were  insignificant.2 

The  French  on  their  part  would  tolerate  no  trade 
with  the  English.  A  vessel  from  Londonderry  in  1742 
was  wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Louisiana,  and  the  part  of 
the  cargo  that  was  saved  the  French  confiscated  and 
sold  for  8,912  livres,  10  sols.3  It  is  not  known  whether 
the  ship  had  entered  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  for  the  purpose 
of  trade  with  that  province,  but  it  is  fair  to  assume  that 
such  was  the  intention. 

The  outbreak  of  war  between  France  and  England  in 
1744  made  it  very  difficult  for  merchants  of  the  latter 
nation  to  carry  on  trade  by  sea  with  Mobile.  In  April 
1746  a  Dutch  ship  from  Caracas  anchored  at  Mobile. 
The  captain,  a  Frenchman,  made  a  declaration  that  he 
was  on  his  way  to  Campeachy,  but  was  forced  to  enter 
the  harbor  because  of  contrary  winds.  The  boat  in  fact 
had  such  a  bad  leak  that  within  24  hours  after  it  hove 
to,  the  cargo  of  flour,  wine,  beer,  cloth  and  other  goods 
was  damaged  to  the  extent  of  more  than  a  thousand 
ecus.  Accordingly  the  skipper  asked  permission  of  the 
governor  then  at  Moblie  to  land  the  merchandise.  He 
was  permitted  so  to  do  and  later  he  was  allowed  to  sell 
it  at  a  moderate  price.4 

1  A.  N.,  C,,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxv,  fol.  143;  vol.  xxvi,  fols.  94,  130;  vol. 
xxvii,  fols.  78,  122, 

1  Journal  of  the  Minister  of  the  Colony,  from  Dec.  17,  1743,  to  Dec. 
6,  1744.     Penn.  Hist.  Soc.  Lib. 

3  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xxix,  fol.  106. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  xxx,  fols.  110-112,  145;  Ser.  B,  vol.  Ixxxiii,  fol.  39. 


TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  457 

The  Louisiana  officials  were  fearful  lest  the  selling  of 
the  flour  would  affect  the  price  of  the  article  expected 
at  the  time  from  the  Illinois  country.  The  defense  to 
the  home  government  was  on  the  ground  of  extreme 
need  of  foodstuffs.  The  crown  approved  the  action,  but 
instructed  its  agents  in  the  province  in  future  to  be  less 
lenient  to  Dutch  traders.1 

In  June  1748  a  ship  appeared  off  the  "  Isle  of  Vessels  " 
with  a  letter  from  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  request- 
ing an  exchange  of  certain  prisoners  of  war  he  had  on 
board.  On  this  proposition  Governor  Vaudreuil  declined 
to  take  action  before  he  had  received  instructions  from 
the  home  government.  The  captain,  on  his  own  part, 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  take  on  a  supply  of  wood  and 
water.  The  request  was  granted  and  the  people  living 
along  the  shore  were  delegated  to  furnish  what  was 
requested  and  to  receive  flour  in  payment.  Such  quan- 
tities of  merchandise  changed  hands,  however,  as  to  jus- 
tify suspicion  that  illicit  traffic  was  in  progress.  If  so, 
nothing  seems  to  have  been  done  about  it.2 

An  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war  now  became  a  com- 
mon excuse  among  English  sea  captains  for  the  appear- 
ance of  their  vessels  in  Louisiana.  On  June  28  Governor 
Vaudreuil  informed  the  home  government  that  an  Eng- 
lish ship  had  arrived  at  the  Balise  for  that  purpose.  The 
local  authorities  promptly  searched  the  vessel  for  pro- 
hibited merchandise.  They  found  none,  simply  because 
the  captain,  the  night  before,  had  landed  33  negroes  and 
some  goods  from  Jamaica  on  a  small  island  in  the  river 
not  far  away.  By  this  maneuver  he  hoped  to  outwit 
the  authorities  and  later  deal  directly  with  the  colonists 

*A.N.,C.,    Ser.    C18,   vol.   xxxii,    fols.   32-33;    Ser.   B,   Louisiane, 
vol.lxxxv,  fol.  3. 
«  Ibid.,  Ser.  C18,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  88-89. 


458  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [458 

along  the  coast,  just  as  had  probably  been  done  by  his 
predecesssor.  Learning  of  the  presence  of  the  negroes 
and  the  merchandise  on  the  island,  the  officials  sent  a 
detachment  thither,  seized  the  negroes  and  two  English- 
men on  guard  and  confiscated  the  goods  on  the  spot, 
together  with  some  beer  and  tafia  found  on  board  the 
vessel.  The  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  the  entire  cargo 
amounted  to  63,197  livres,  14  sols.1 

The  home  government  strongly  approved  of  the  action, 
partly,  it  would  seem,  because  England  granted  a  bounty 
of  six  shillings  a  pound  on  indigo  which  worked  to  the 
presumptive  detriment  of  Louisiana,  and  partly  because 
of  the  general  necessity  of  suppressing  illicit  trade  with 
the  Carolinas.  As  the  French  saw  the  situation,  English 
merchants  would  be  able  to  buy  indigo  in  Louisiana, 
carry  it  to  the  Carolinas  and  send  it  thence  to  England  as 
a  Carolina  product.  Traffic  of  this  sort  would  be  able  to 
command  a  good  price  for  the  commodity,  and  hence 
Frenchmen  would  easily  be  induced  to  enter  upon  illicit 
transactions.  Whatever  the  wisdom  of  this  reasoning, 
the  governor  of  Louisiana  was  instructed  henceforth  to 
prohibit  absolutely  all  English  and  Dutch  vessels  visiting 
the  province  under  any  pretext  whatever.2 

Ere  long  France  and  England  were  again  at  war,  and 
the  English,  as  usual,  seized  every  French  ship  encoun- 
tered on  the  seas.  In  1755,  furthermore,  England  in- 
structed the  provincial  governors  to  take  particular  care 
to  prohibit  trade  with  the  French.3  Almost  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  certain  persons  in  Louisiana,  in  a 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xxxii,  fols.  20-22,  200-201. 
*  Ibid.,  vol.  xxxiii,  fol.  156;  vol.  xxxiv,  fols.  5-7;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  ccxli, 
M.  S.  S.  M.,  Jan.  2,  1749. 

3  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xxviii,  I754-I75S,  p.  336;  R.  I.  Col.  Rec., 
vol.  v,  p.  516. 


459]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  459 

position  financially  to  do  so,  had  sent  out  from  time  to 
time  "  vaisseaux  parlementaires,"  or  cartel-ships,  in 
order  to  secure  foodstuffs.  Under  the  guise  of  a  flag  of 
truce  these  boats  tried  to  traffic  with  ships  at  sea,  or 
entered  the  ports  of  colonies  belonging  to  other  nations. 
Many  of  them,  to  be  sure,  were  taken  by  the  English, 
who  later  used  them  in  trade  with  the  province.  It  was 
the  policy  of  the  "ordonnateur  "  to  confiscate  them  in 
case  the  persons  in  possession  refused  to  give  them  up.1 

On  the  principle  that  absolute  necessity  justified  un- 
usual action,  Governor  Kerlerec  believed  it  to  be  per- 
missible under  the  French  law  to  get  supplies  even  from 
enemies.  This  attitude,  in  fact,  had  led  yearly  to  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  English  vessels.2  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  mooted  question  whether  the  colony  was  really  in 
a  condition  that  would  warrant  the  policy  adopted  by 
the  governor. 

Whether  or  not  the  governor  was  justified  in  his 
decision  did  not  matter,  since  it  had  the  result  he 
intended  to  produce.  On  January  9,  1759,  an  English 
ship  of  50  tons  reached  New  Orleans  with  a  cargo  of 
flour,  lard,  beer,  hams,  cheese,  cordage,  iron,  cider  and 
cloth.  It  also  had  on  board  nine  negroes  and  two  French 
prisoners  of  war  who  were  seized  by  the  "  ordonnateur."3 

In  March  another  English  boat  appeared  bringing 
a  cargo  of  dry-goods  that  had  been  bought  in  Jamaica 
for  200,000  livres.  It  was  disposed  of  in  New  Orleans  for 
600,000,  the  captain  being  accorded  the  privilege  of  sell- 
ing at  both  retail  and  wholesale.4  As  these  cargoes  were 

1  A.  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xli,  fols.  175-177;  Ser.  F*,  vol.  xxv,  fols. 
130-131. 

» Ibid.,  Ser.  O3,  vol.  xli,  fols.  191-196.  *  Ibid. 

4  Ibid.,  fols.  175,  247-248;  Ser.  F3,  vol.  xxv,  fols.  201-205. 


46o  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA 

not  large  enough  to  relieve  the  needs  of  the  province, 
Governor  Kerlerec,  on  May  3,  1759,  before  leaving  the 
capital  on  a  tour  of  inspection  to  Mobile  and  the  other 
posts,  ordered  the  major  situated  at  the  Balise  to  allow 
any  vessel  that  might  come  during  his  absence  with  a 
supply  of  food,  to  sell  what  it  had  regardless  of  the  flag 
under  which  it  sailed.1  Scarcely  had  the  governor  de- 
parted when  an  English  boat  arrived.  Its  captain  forth- 
with requested  to  be  allowed  to  dispose  of  the  cargo  at 
retail.  Meanwhile  a  French  prisoner  of  war  had  offered 
to  purchase  the  entire  consignment,  but  as  the  price  he 
mentioned  was  very  low  his  proposal  was  rejected.  The 
offer  no  doubt  was  prompted  by  the  "  ordonnateur  "  who 
now  proceeded  to  confiscate  the  cargo  instead.  This 
procedure  threw  New  Orleans  into  great  excitement  be- 
cause for  months  the  troops  had  been  on  half-rations,  the 
negroes  were  almost  without  food  altogether,  and  every 
one  in  the  province  was  more  or  less  in  need.2  Governor 
Kerlerec,  however,  on  his  return  suspended  the  major  at 
the  Balise  and  arrested  the  secretary  of  the  "ordonna- 
teur "  for  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  affair,  and  in  this 
action  he  was  later  upheld  by  the  crown.3 

In  June  1759  the  commercial  situation  of  New  Or- 
leans was  worse  than  it  had  been  since  the  war  began. 
The  English  had  a  ship  carrying  36  guns  and  a  smaller 
one  having  between  16  and  20  cannon  stationed  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in  order  to  prevent  sup- 
plies of  any  kind  from  being  carried  up  the  river.  The 
colonial  officials  accordingly  were  forced  to  have  food 
and  munitions  landed  at  Pensacola  and  thence  trans- 

1  A.  N.,  C.,   Ser.  C13,  vol.  xli,  fols.  20-29. 

*Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  Ser.  B,  vol.  cix,  fols.  25-26. 


461]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  461 

ported  to  Louisiana.1  This  expedient  being  ineffective, 
the  French  government  made  an  arrangement  with  a 
merchant  of  Amsterdam  to  carry  what  was  needed. 
At  the  same  time  it  instructed  the  local  officials  to 
receive  consignments  from  that  source  and  allow  their 
sale.2  In  order  to  make  it  possible  for  the  Dutch  boat 
to  reach  New  Orleans,  an  armed  vessel  was  despatched 
to  drive  the  English  war-ship  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  and  succeeded  in  doing  so.3 

The  French,  indeed,  were  able  to  give  the  English  con- 
siderable cause  for  disquiet.  Governor  Bull  of  South 
Carolina  wrote  to  the  Board  of  Trade  May  29,  1760,  that 
Louisiana  was  procuring  supplies  for  the  Indian  trade 
from  the  northern  colonies,  chiefly  Rhode  Island,  the 
goods  being  carried  to  Pensacola  or  elsewhere  for  pur- 
chase.4 This  trade  was  highly  offensive  to  some  of  the 
English  colonial  officials  who  believed  that  it  was  pro- 
longing the  war.  The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  was 
especially  strong  in  his  denunciation  of  the  traffic ;  yet 
nothing  apparently  could  be  done  to  stop  it.5 

In  this  connection  Governor  Golden  of  New  York 
admitted  that  only  too  many  traders  from  that  colony 
had  been  engaged  in  the  business,  but  declared  that  those 
from  Philadelphia  were  still  more  numerous  and  active. 
Merchants  from  both  localities  shipped  large  cargoes  of 
merchandise  to  New  England,  where  any  particular  cap- 
tain concerned  would  obtain  the  needful  papers  in  accord- 
ance with  the  navigation  acts.  He  could  then  put  his 

1  A,  N.,  C.,  Ser.  C",  vol.  xli,  fol.  71. 
z  Ibid.,  S6r.  B,  vol.  cxi,  fols.  2,  3. 

3  Ibid.,  Ser.  C13,  vol.  xlii,  fols.  56-57,  93-96. 

4  N.  C.  Col.  Rec.,  vol.  vi,  p.  260 ;  Beer,  British  Colonial  Policy,  p.  103. 

5  Beer,  p.  105. 


462  THE  COMMERCE  OF  LOUISIANA  [462 

cargo  ashore  at  any  port  he  saw  fit ;  yet  to  the  officials 
of  the  port  from  which  he  set  sail  he  could  give  the 
appearance  on  his  return  to  Philadelphia  or  New  York, 
of  having  delivered  the  ship-load  at  the  first  landing- 
place  visited.  With  a  cargo  of  sugar  probably  taken  on 
at  a  French  or  Spanish  settlement,  the  captain  went  first 
to  some  point  on  the  New  Jersey  coast  or  back  to  New 
England,  where  he  procured  other  papers,  in  order  to 
make  it  look  as  if  the  merchandise  had  been  embarked 
at  some  one  of  the  ports  last  named.  So  far  as  Golden 
knew,  no  New  York  boats  had  gone  to  Louisiana,  but 
he  was  told  that  some  from  the  New  England  colonies 
had  done  so.  English  colonists,  however,  were  not 
lacking  who  claimed  that  traffic  of  the  sort  with  the 
French  province  was  an  advantage,  since  it  afforded  an 
outlet  for  products  that  otherwise  would  have  a  poorer 
market  or  none  at  all,  and  on  this  ground  advocated  its 
official  approval.1 

Throughout  the  war  a  small  number  of  English  sloops 
from  one  colony  or  another,  and  from  Rhode  Island  in 
particular,  carried  on  trade  with  Mobile  and  some  of  the 
bolder  captains  transported  cargoes  directly  to  New 
Orleans.2  The  traffic,  nevertheless,  was  managed  so 
skilfully  that  it  had  the  appearance  ,of  legality.  So 
cleverly  indeed  was  the  work  done  that  captains  tried  in 
the  admiralty  court  of  Charleston  for  bringing  to  that 
port  cargoes  undoubtedly  procured  in  Louisiana  were 
able,  by  the  papers  in  their  possession,  to  prove,  judicially 
at  least,  that  the  stuff  had  been  taken  on  at  a  Spanish 
settlement.  The  collector  accordingly  was  obliged  to 

1  Colden  Papers,  vol.  i,  Oct.  27,  1760,  in  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Pub.,  Fund 
Ser.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  26-30.    N.  Y.,  1877. 

J  Beer,  p.  103. 


463]  TRADE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  463 

clear  any  vessel  sailing  to  a  Spanish  port  under  the  rules 
of  trade.  It  would  simply  get  a  clearance  from  Charles- 
ton for  such  commodities  as  it  was  known  the  Louisiana 
colonists  would  want,  and  depart  for  Pensacola  or  Monte 
Cristo ;  but  instead  would  carry  the  goods  to  Mobile  or 
New  Orleans  as  the  circumstances  would  warrant.  One 
such  boat  in  particular  was  seized  and  taken  to  Charleston, 
in  March  1761,  and  notwithstanding  the  rigid  examina- 
tion the  captain  underwent  at  the  hands  of  the  governor 
and  other  officials  there,  he  was  able  to  prove  his  inno- 
cence of  either  high  treason  or  smuggling.  By  the  end 
of  the  war  the  illicit  traffic  with  Louisiana  had  become 
public  and  notorious.  However  it  was  kept  within 
the  appearance  of  the  law.  Through  it  the  French  at 
Mobile  were  receiving  a  considerable  quantity  of  supplies 
for  the  Indian  trade  from  Pensacola.  English  vessels 
also  dealt  directly  with  New  Orleans,  either  as  supposed 
cartel-ships  or  by  other  elusive  devices.1 

Governor  Bull  roundly  declared  that  the  voyages  were 
made  wholly  for  commercial  objects.  In  1761,  an  Eng- 
lish sloop  was  seized  at  Boston  for  trafficking  with  New 
Orleans.  The  examination  of  the  captain  brought  out 
the  information  that  at  the  time  two  other  English 
vessels — one  from  Rhode  Island,  the  other  from  Jamaica 
—also  were  regularly  trading  at  that  port.2  Records  of 
the  transactions,  however,  are  necessarily  limited  to  the 
vessels  that  in  some  way  got  into  trouble  with  the  officials, 
for  the  practice  was  opposed  by  both  the  English  and 
French  governments,  and  hence  had  to  be  carried  on 
secretly.  When  the  war  ended  in  1763,  the  illicit  trade 
had  not  lost  any  of  its  significance. 

1  Pub.  Rec.  of  S.  C.,  vol.  xxix,  p.  42. 
*  Beer,  p.  103. 


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464  [464 


465]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  465 

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Detail  du  Mississipi,  de  son  commerce  et  de  celui  qui  sy  pour- 
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466  BIBLIOGRAPHY  [466 

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Sketches  of  their  Soil,  Climate,  Resources  and  Scenery,  Philadel- 
phia, 1838. 

Halsey,  Francis  Whiting,  The  Old  New  York  Frontier,  1714-1800, 
New  York,  1901. 

Hamilton,  Peter  J.  Colonial  Mobile.  An  Historical  Study,  largely 
from  Original  Sources,  of  the  Alabama  Tombigby  Basin  from  the 
Discovery  of  Mobile  Bay  in  1519  until  the  Demolition  of  Fort 
Charlotte  in  1821,  Boston  and  New  York,  1898. 

Heinrich,  Pierre,  La  Louisiane  sous  la  Compagnie  des  Indies,  1717-1731, 
Paris,  1906. 


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Howe,  W.  W.,  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans.  In  J.  H.  U. 
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Hulbert,  Archer  Butler,  Historic  Highways  of  America,  16  vols., 
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Hunt,  F.,  editor,  The  Merchant's  Magazine  and  Commercial  Review, 
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Kennedy,  Howard  Angus,  The  Story  of  Canada,  London,  1898. 

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Kingsford,  William,  The  History  of  Canada,  10  vols.,  London,  1888- 
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MacPherson,  David,  Annals  of  Commerce,  Manufactures  and  Naviga- 
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In  tfo*  Cits  0f 


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Early  Diplomatic  Relations  between 
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By  WILLIAM  R.  MANNING,  Ph.D. 

Adjunct  Professor  of  Latin- American  History  in  the  University  of  Texas 


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[16]  History  of  Proprietary  Government  In  Pennsylvania. 

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1.  [17]  History  of  the  Transition  from  Provincial  to  Commonwealth  GovJ 
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».  [18]  Speculation  on  the  Stock  and  Produce  Exchanges  of  the  United  States 

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[89]  The  Growth  of  Cities.  By  ADNA  FBRRIN  WBPBK  Ph.D. 

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[4O]  Crime  In  Its  Relation  to  Social  Progress.       By  ARTHUR  CLBVBLAKD  HALL,  Ph.D. 

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1.  [44]  'Centralizing  Tendencies  In  the  Administration  of  Indiana. 

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1.  [46]  The  Administration  of  Iowa.       By  HAROLD  MARTIN  BOWMAW,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.30. 

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8.  [51]  Trade  Unions  and  the  Law  la  New  York. 

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1.  [53]  The  Office  of  the  Justice  of  the  Pe»ce  In  England. 

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VOLUME  XXI,  1904.    746  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [54]  'Treaties,  their  Making  and  Enforcement. 

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[57]  The  Historical  Development  of  the  Poor  Law  of  Connecticut. 

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VOLUME  XXIII,  1905.    594  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [58]  The  Economics  of  Land  Tenure  In  Georgia. 

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3.  [GO]  Combination  In  the  Mining  Industry. 

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4.  [61]  The  English  Craft  Guilds  and  the  Government. 

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VOLUME  XXIV,  1905.    521  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [68]  The  Place  of  Magic  In  the  Intellectual  History  of  Europe. 

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3.  [64]  *The  International  Position  of  Japan  as  a  Great  Power. 

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1.  [65]  'Municipal  Control  of  Public  Utilities. 

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8.  [66]  The  Kudget  in  the  American  Commonwealths. 

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3.  [67]  The  Finances  of  Cleveland.  By  CHARLES  C.  WILLIAMSON,  Ph.D.    Price,  $2.00. 

VOLUME  XXVI,  1917.    559  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1    [68]  Trade  and  Currency  In  Early  Oregon. 

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3.  [69]  Luther's  Table  Talk.  By  PKBSUKVBD  SMITH,  Ph.D.  Price,  gi.oo. 

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4.  [71]  Social  Democracy  and  Population. 

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VOLUME  XXVII,  1907.    578  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4  00. 

1.  [78]  The  Economic  Policy  of  Robert  Walpole. 

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3.  [78]  The  United  States  Steel  Corporation. 

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3.  [74]  The  Taxation  of  Corporations  in  Massachusetts. 

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1.  [75]  DoWltt  Clinton  and  the  Origin  of  the  Spoils  System  In  New  York. 

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8.  [76]  The  Development  of  the  Legislature  of  Colonial  Virginia. 

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3.  [77]  The  Distribution  of  Ownership. 

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1.   [78]  Early  New  England  Towns.  By  ANNE  BUSH  MACLBAH,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

8.    L79J  New  Hampshire  as  a  Royal  Province. 

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[SO]  The  Province  of  Now  Jersey,  1664—1738.  By  EDWIN  P.  TANNER,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  XXXI,  1908.    575  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [81]  Private  Freight  Cars  and  American  Railroads. 

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3.  [83]  Consanguineous  Marriages  in  the  American  Population. 

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4.  [84]  Adolphe  Quotelet  as  Statistician.       By  FRANK  H.  HANKINS,  Ph.D.     Price,  $1.25. 

VOLUME  XXXII,  1908.    705  pp.    Price,  cloth,  4.50;  paper  covers,  $4.00. 

85]  The  Enforcement  of  the  Statutes  of  Laborers. 

By  BKRTHA  HAVEN  PUTNAM,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  XXXIII,  1908-1909     635  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [86]  Factory  Legislation  in  Maine.  By  E.  STAGG  WHITIN,  A.B.    Price,  Ji.oo. 

4.  [87J  'Psychological  Interpretations  of  Society. 

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VOLUME  XXXIV,  1909.    628  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [89]  Transportation  and  Industrial  Development  in  the  Middle  West. 

By  WILLIAM  F.  GBFHART,  Ph.D.    Price,  |a.o«. 
».  [9O]  Social  Reform  and  the  Reformation. 

By  JACOB  SALWYN  SCHAPIKO,  Ph.D.    Price,  £i.*5. 

8.  [91]  Responsibility  for  Crime.  By  PHILIP  A.  PARSONS,  Ph.D.    Price,  $x.jo. 

VOLUME  XXXV,  1909.    568  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [98]  The  Conflict  over  the  Judicial  Powers  In  the  United  States  to  18TO. 

By  CHARLBS  GROVB  HAINBS,  Ph.D.    Price, $i.y>. 

9.  [98]  A  Study  of  the  Population  of  Manhattan vllle. 

By  HOWARD  BROWN  WOOLSTOH,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.25. 

8.  [94]  *  Divorce:  A  Study  In  Social  Causation. 

By  JAMBS  P.  LICHTBNBRRGBR,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

VOLUME  XXXVI,  1910.    542  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [95]  *  Reconstruction  In  Texas.     By  CHARLBS  WILLIAM  RAMSDBLL,  Ph.D.     Price,  $2.50. 

9.  [90]  *  The  Transition  in  Virginia  from  Colony  to  Commonwealth. 

By  CHARLES  RAMSDBLL  LINGLBY,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

VOLUME  XXXVII,  1910.    606  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [97]  Standards  of  Reasonableness  in  Local  Freight  Discriminations. 

By  JOHN  MAURICB  CLARK,  Ph.D.     Price,  $i.aj. 
9.  [98]  Legal  Development  In  Colonial  Massachusetts. 

By  CHARLBS  J.  HILKBT,  Ph.D.     Price,  |i.t$. 

8.  [99]  *  Social  and  Mental  Traits  of  the  Negro. 

By  HOWARD  W.  ODUM,  Ph.D.     Price,  $a.oo. 

VOLUME  XXXVIII,  1910.    463  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $3.50. 

1.  [1OO]  The  Public  Domain  and  Democracy. 

By  ROBERT  TUDOR  HILL,  Ph.  D.    Price,  fm.oo. 

9.  [1O1]  Organlsmic  Theories  of  the  State. 

By  FRANCIS  W.  COKBR,  Ph.D.    Price,  fx.fo. 

VOLUME  XXXIX,  1910-1911.    651  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [1OS]  The  Making  of  the  Balkan  States. 

By  WILLIAM  SMITH  MURRAY,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

X.  [1O8]  Political  History  of  New  York  State  during  the  Period  of  the  Civil 
War.  By  SIDNEY  DAVID  BRUMMBR,  Ph.  D.    Price,  3.00. 

VOLUME  XL,  1911.    633  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [1O4]  A  Survey  of  Constitutional  Development  in  China. 

By  HAWKLING  L.  YBN,  Ph.D.    Price,  Jji.oo. 
9.  [1O5]  Ohio  Politics  during  the  Civil  War  Period. 

By  GEORGB  H.  PORTBR,  Ph.D.    Price.  $1.75. 

8.  [1O6]  The  Territorial  Basis  of  Government  tinder  the  State  Constitutions. 

By  ALFRED  ZANTZINGBR  RBBD,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.75. 

VOLUME  XLI,  1911.    514  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $3.50;  paper  covers,  $3.00. 

[1O7]  New  Jersey  as  a  Royal  Province.  By  EDGAR  JACOB  FISHBR,  Ph.  D. 

VOLUME  XLII,  1911.    400pp.    Price,  cloth,  $3.00;  paper  covers,  $2.50. 

[1O8]  Attitude  of  American  Courts  in  Labor  Cases. 

By  GBORCB  GORHAM  GROAT,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  XLHI,  1911.    633pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50.           .#$ 

1.  [1O9]  "Industrial  Causes  of  Congestion  of  Population  in  New  York  City. 

By  EDWARD  EWING  PRATT,  Ph.D.    Price,  fc.oo. 

9.  [HO]  Education  and  the  Mores.  By  F.  STUART  CHAPIN,  Ph.D.    Price,  75  cents. 

8.  £lll]  The  British  Consuls  In  the  Confederacy. 

By  MILLBDGB  L.  BONHAM,  JR.,  Ph.D.    Price,  $2.0*. 

VOLUMES  XLIV  and  XLV,  1911.    745  pp. 
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(118  and  113]  The  Economic  Principles  of  Confucius  and  his  School. 

By  CHEN  HUAH-CHANG,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  XLVI,  1911-1912.    623  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [1141  The  Ricardlan  Socialists.  BY  ESTHER  LOWBNTHAL,  Ph.D.    Price,  fi.oa 

9.  [IISJ  Ibrahim  Pasha,  Grand  Vizier  of  Suleiman,  the  Magnificent. 

BY  HIS.VTKK  DONALDSON  JENKINS,  Ph.D.     Price,  JSi.oo. 

3.  [116]  'Syndicalism  in  France. 

BY  Louis  LRVINB,  Ph.D.    Second  edition.  1914.    Price,  $1.50. 

4.  [117]    A  Hooiier  Village.  Bv  NEWELL  LBROY  SIMS,  Ph. ».    Price,  f  1.50. 


VOLUME  XLVII,  1912.    544  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  {118]  Tlie  Politics  of  Michigan,  1866-1878, 

BY  HARRIETTS  M.  DILLA,  Ph.D.    Price,  $2.00. 
9.  [119]  *The  United  States  Beet  Sugar  Industry  and  the  Tariff. 

BY  ROY  G.  BLAKBY,  Ph.D.     Price,  fa.oo. 

VOLUME  XL VIII,  1912.    493  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [18O]  Isldor  Of  Seville.  BY  ERNEST  BRBHAUT,  Ph.  D.    Price.  Ja.oo. 

9.  [121]  Progress  and  Unlformltyin  Child-Labor  Legislation. 

By  WILLIAM  FIELDING  OGBURN,  Ph.D.     Price,  $1.75. 

VOLUME  XLIX,  1912.    592  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [188]  British  Radicalism  1791-1797.  BY  WALTER  PHBLPS  HALL.  Price,  fa.oo. 

S.  [183]  A  Comparative  Study  of  the  Law  of  Corporations. 

BY  ARTHUR  K.  KUHN,  Ph.D.  Price,  $1.30. 
3.  [184]  *The  Negro  at  Work  in  New  York  City. 

BY  GBORGB  E.  HAYNBS.  Ph.D.  Price,?  1.25. 

VOLUME  L,  1911.    481  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [185]  *The  Spirit  of  Chinese  Philanthropy.      IBY  YAI  YUB  Tsu.  Ph.D.    Price,  fi.oo. 
3.  [186]  *The  Allen  in  China.  BY  Vi.  KYUIN  WELLINGTON  Koo,  Ph.D.    Price,  $2.50. 

VOLUME  LI,  1912.    4to.  Atlas.    Price:  cloth,  $1.50;  paper  covers,  $1.00. 

1.  [1ST]  The  Sale  of  Liquor  In  the  South. 

BY  LEONARD  S.  BLAKBY,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  LII,  1912.    489  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [188]  'Provincial  and  Local  Taxation  In  Canada. 

BY  SOLOMON  VIMBBBRC,  Ph.D.     Price,  £1.50. 
a.  [189]  *The  Distribution  of  Income. 

By  FRANK  HATCH  STRBIGHTOPP,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

8.  [18O]  *The  Finances  of  Vermont.  By  FREDERICK  A.  WOOD,  Ph.D.    Price,  fci.oo. 

VOLUME  LIU,  1913.    789  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50;  paper,  $4.00. 
[181]  The  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction  In  Florida.       [By  W.  W.  DAVK,  Ph.D. 
VOLUME  LI V,  1913.    604pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [138]    *  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

By  ARNOLD  JOHNSON  LIBN,  Ph.D.    Price,  75  cents. 
3.  [133]    The  Supreme  Court  and  Unconstitutional  Legislation. 

By  BLAINB  FRBB  MOORE,  Ph.D.    Price,  £1.00. 

3.  [134]  'Indian  Slavery  in  Colonial  Times  within  the  Present  Limits  of  the 
United  States.  By  ALMON  WHBBLBR  LAUBBR,  Ph.D.    Price,  $3.00. 

VOLUME  LV,  1913.    665  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [185]    *A  Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

By  HOMER  A.  STBBBINS,  Ph.D.    Price,  fcjoo. 

9.  [130]   "The  Early  Persecutions  of  the  Christians. 

By  LBONH.  CAKFIBLD,  Ph.D.    Price,   $1.50. 

VOLUME  LVI,  1913.    406  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $3.50. 

1.  [137]  Speculation  on  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  19O4-19O7. 

By  ALGERNON  ASHBURNBR  OSBORNB.      Price,  $1.50. 
S.  [188]  The  Policy  of  the  United  States  towards  Industrial  Monopoly. 

By  OSWALD  WHITMAN  KNAUTH,  Ph.D.     Price]  #2.00. 

VOLUME  LVII,  1914.    670  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [139]  *The  Civil  Service  of  Great  Britain. 

By  ROBERT  MOSBS,  Ph.D.     Price,  £3.00. 
8.  [14O]  The  Financial  History  of  New  York  State. 

By  DON  C.  SOWBRS.     Price,  $2.50. 

VOLUME  LVIII,  1914.    684  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50;  paper,  $4.00. 

[141]  Reconstruction  in  North  Carolina. 

By  J.  G.  DB  ROULHAC  HAMILTON,  Ph.D. 

VOLUME  LIX,  1914.    625pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [148]  The  Development  of  Modern  Turkey  by  means  of  its  Press. 

By  AHMED  EMIN,  Ph.D.     Price,  f  i.oo. 
«.  [143]  The  System  of  Taxation  in  China.  1614-1911. 

By  SHAO-KWAN  CHEN,  Ph.  D.    Price,  fi.oo. 

3.  [144]  The  Currency  Problem  in  China.  By  WBN  PIN  WBI,  Ph.D.    Price,  |i.2S. 

4.  [115]  *Jewlsh  Immigration  to  the  United  States. 

By  SAMUEL  JOSEPH,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 


VOLUME  LX,  1 9 14.    516  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [146]  "Constantino  the  Great  and  Christianity. 

By  CHRISTOPHER  BUSH  COLKMAN,  Ph.D.     Price,  $2.00. 

3.  [147]  The   Establishment   of  Christianity   and    the  Proscription  of  Pa- 
ganism. By  MAUD  ALINK  HUTTMANN,  Ph.U.   Price,  Je.oo. 

VOLUME  LXI,  1914.    496  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [148]  *The  Railway  Conductors:  A  Study  in  Organized  Labor. 

By  EDWIN  CLYDIJ  RUKBINS.     Price,  #1.50. 

«.  [149]  *The  Finances  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

By  YIN-CH'U  MA,  Ph.D.     Price,  £2.50. 

VOLUME  LXII,  1914.    414  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $3.50. 

f!5O]  The  Journal  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Fifteen  on  Reconstruction, 
39th  Congress,  1865—1807.  By  BENJAMIN  B.  KENDKICK, Ph.D.     Price,  543.00. 

VOLUME  LXIII,  1915.    561pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [151]  Emlle  Durkhelm's  Contributions  to  Sociological  Theory. 

By  CHAKLKS  ELMER  (JEHLKE,  Ph.D.     Price,  £1.50. 

3.  [153]  The  Nationalization  of  Railways  In  Japan. 

By  I'OSHIHAKU  WATARAI,  Ph.D.     Price,  $1.25. 

3.  [1531  Population:  A  Study  In  Malthustaiilsm. 

By  WARREN  S.  THOMPSON,  Ph.D.     Price  (Hi. 75. 

VOLUME  LXIV,  1915.    646  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  11541  *Reconstructlon  in  Georgia.       By.  C.  MILDRED  THOMPSON,  Ph.D.     Price,  $3.00. 

3.  [l55]*The    Review  of  American   Colonial    Legislation   by   the  King  In 
Council.  My  kLMErt  BBECHBR  RUSSKLL,  Ph.D.     Price,  ,11.75. 

VOLUME  LXV,  1915.    496  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [  156]  *The  Sovereign  Council  of  New  France. 

l!y  RAYMOND  Do  Bois  CAHALL,  Ph.D.     Price,  f,i  25. 

2.  1167]  *SclentlfIc  Management.       By  HORACE  BOOKWALTKR  DRURV,  Ph.D.    Price,  £1.75. 

VOLUME  LXVI,  1915.    655  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [158]  *The  Recognition  Policy  of  the  United  States. 

By  JULIUS  GOEBBL,  JR.,  Ph.D.  Price,  $2.00. 

2.  11. r>9]  Railway  Problems  in  China.  By  CHIH  Hsu,  Ph.D.  Price,  $1.50. 

3.  [16O]  *The  Boxer  Rebellion.  By  PAUL  H.  CLEMENTS.  Ph.D.  Price,  $2.00. 

VOLUME  LXVII,  1916.    538pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [1(51]  *Russian  Sociology.  By  JULIUS  F.  HECKKR,  Ph.D.     Price,  $2. 50. 

3.  [163]  Scate  Regulation  of  Railroads  in  the  South. 

By  MAXWELL  FERGUSON,  A  M  ,  LL.B.J     Price,  gi. 75. 

VOLUME  LXVIII,  1916.    518  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

[1O3]  The  Origins  of  the  Islamic  State.        By  PHILIP  K.  HITTI,  Ph.D.    Price,  #4.00. 

VOLUME  LXIX,  1916.    489  pp.     Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [1O4]  Railway  Monopoly  and  Rate  Regulation. 

By  ROBERT  J.  McFALL,  Ph.D.     Price,  $2.00. 

2.  [165]  The  Butter  Industry  in  the  United  States. 

By  EDWARD  WIEST,  Ph.D.     Price,  $2.00. 


VOLUME  LXX,  1916.    540  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

[166]  Mohammedan  Theories  of  Finance. 

By  NICOLAS  P.  AGHNIDES,  Ph.D.     Price,  $4.00. 

VOLUME  LXXI.     1916.    476  pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.00. 

1.  [167]  The  Commerce  of  Louisiana  during  the  French  Re'gflme,  1699—1763. 

By  N.  M.  MILLER  SURREY,  Ph.D.     Price,  $4.00. 

VOLUME  LXXII.    1916.    542pp.    Price,  cloth,  $4.50. 

1.  [168]  American  Men  of  Letters:  Their  Nature  and  Nurture. 

By  EDWIN  LEAVITT  CLARKE,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

2.  [169]  The  Tariff  Problem  In  China.  By  CHIN  CHU,  Ph.D.    Price,  $1.50. 

3.  [17O]  The  Marketing  of  Perishable  Food  Products. 

By  A.  B.  ADAMS,  A.M.     Price,  $1.50. 

VOLUME  LXXIII.    1916. 

1.  [171]  The  Social  and  Economic  Aspects  of  the  Chartist  Movement. 

By  FRANK  F.  ROSENBLATT.    (In press). 

2.  [178]  The  Decline  of  the  Chartist  Movement. 

By.  PRESTON  WILLIAM  SLOSSON.     (Inprtss). 

3.  [173]  Chartism  and  the  Churches.  By  H.  U.  FAULKNER.    (In press). 

VOLUME  LXXIV.    1916. 

1.  [174]  The  Rise  of  Ecclesiastical  Control  In  Quebec. 

By  WALTER  A.  RIDDELL.    (In  press). 


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